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Tile  Drainage 


An  explanation  of  how  and  why 
tile  will  benefit  a  large  per- 
centage of  our  lands 
and  increase  our 
INCOMES 


Together  with  instructions  for  the 
proper  installation  of  an 
efficient  tile   drain- 
age system. 


BY    JAMES    A.    KING 

Practical  Farmer,  Specialist  on  Tile  Drainage 
for  farms,  formerly  Professor  in  Extension 
Department,  Iowa  State  College,  assistant 
editor,  "Farm  Engineering"  and  managing 
editor  "The  Farming  Business." 


Copyright  1918,  by  James  A.  Kirg 


L' 


V  V- 


A  Statement  by 

the  Publishers 


For  several  years  we  have  realized  the  need  for  placing  in 
the  hands  of  land-owners  a  "Plain  English"  book  on  the  subject 
of  drainage — a  book  from  which  the  technicalities  of  the  usual 
text  book  would  be  eliminated. 

We  discovered  Prof.  Jas.  A.  King  on  the  point  of  publishing 
the  manuscript  of  this  book.  The  first  reading  of  the  text  re- 
vealed the  fact  that  Prof.  King's  ideas  and  principles  agreed  with 
those  we  had  held  for  years.  We  purchased  the  copyright  rights 
to  the  manuscript  and  have  published  it  in  order  to  do  our  part  in 
making  known  the  great  material  benefits  which  the  average 
farmer  or  land-owner  may  expect  from  properly  tiling  his  farm. 

Prof.  King  was  born  and  raised  on  an  Iowa  farm.  He  spent 
two  years  in  the  Extension  Department  of  the  Iowa  State 
College,  at  Ames.  For  four  years  he  managed  large  farms  in  the 
wet  areas  of  Iowa.  For  the  past  ten  years  he  has  been  identified 
with  drainage  work  and  the  Iowa  State  Drainage  Association. 
He  has  been  assistant  editor  of  "Farm  Engineering,"  and  manag- 
ing editor  of  the  "Farming  Business."  At  present  he  is  manag- 
ing his  own  farm  in  Mitchell  County,  Iowa,  and  writing  for  the 
leading  farm  papers  of  Iowa  and  Minnesota. 

With  such  a  wealth  of  practical  experience  in  drainage  and 
an  unusual  facility  for  telling  others  what  he  has  personally  ex- 
perienced, no  one  is  better  qualified  to  state  the  real  facts  regard- 
ing drainage  and  to  give  reliable  advice  upon  this  important  sub- 
ject. 

Prof.  King's  ideas  upon  the  proper  methods  of  drainage,  its 
benefits  and  what  is  the  proper  tile,  match  up  so  perfectly  with 
our  own  that  we  have  taken  the  liberty  of  inserting  a  chapter  at 
the  end  of  this  book  to  bring  to  your  attention  the  merits  of  our 
product. 

Mason  City  Brick  &  Tile  Co. 

By  B.    C.   Keeler 


Mason  City,  Iowa 
Sept.  16,  1918 


397212 


Author's  Introduction 


Drainage  is  of  two  kinds.  Sanitary  drainage,  or  sewage  disposal, 
is  the  drainage  of  surplus  water  and  liquid  wastes  from  cities  and 
towns  for  sanitary  reasons.  Land  drainage  is  the  removal  of  surplus 
surface  or  soil  water  from  land  to  make  it  available  for  farm  uses. 

Sanitary  drainage  or  sewage  disposal  is  as  old  as  is  the  habit  of 
human  beings  to  live  in  settled  communities  or  towns.  The  earliest 
known  method  of  sanitary  drainage  was  by  means  of  open  surface 
ditches.  This  method  is  still  used  in  such  backward  portions  of  the 
world  as  is  India  and  China,  where  house  sewage  may  be  seen  being 
conducted  thru  the  streets  in  open  surface  ditches. 

The  use  of  covered  ditches,  instead  of  open  ditches,  is  in  itself  a 
very  ancient  practice.  The  first  covered  sewage  ditches  of  any  perma- 
nance  were  made  by  the  use  of  flat  stones  to  form  a  covered  channel 
in  the  bottom  of  the  ditch,  then  filling  the  rest  of  the  ditch  with  dirt. 
The  use  of  hard  burned  clay  pipe,  made  in  short  lengths  much  as  our 
sewer  pipe  and  drain  tile  of  today,  is  as  old  as  the  ancient  art  of 
pottery.  Sewer  pipe  made  of  hard  burned  clay  have  been  unearthed 
in  the  island  of  Crete ;  still 
whole  and  serviceable  after 
being  in  the  ground  for  near- 
ly seven  thousand  years,  ever 
since  the  year  5,000  B.  C. 

One  seems  to  be  just- 
ified in  moralizing  with  the 
philosopher  of  old,  "There  is 
nothing  new  under  the  sun." 
For  Cato,  an  ancient  Roman 
author,  in  the  year  200  B.  C. 
discussed  quite  extensively 
the  subject  of  farm  drainage 
as  practiced  by  the  Roman 
farmers  of  his  time.  And 
centuries  before  that,  the  ex- 
act time  of  its  beginning  is 
unknown,  the  farmers  of 
Egypt  and  of  Babylonia 
drained  their  wet  lands  in 
order  to  make  them  yield 

r-i-r\r\e    r\f   1ot-rroi-    n  11  i  tif  if  AT-    o  n  A  #-3r<*  Burned  Clay  Sewer  Pipe  laid  in  Island  of  Crete 

crops  ol  larger  quantity  and     5000  B.C.  and  stm  in  perfect  condition. 

better    quality.  —Courtesy  Clay  Products  Association 


So  far  as  known,  the  first  farm  drainage  was  ac- 
complished by  means  of  open  ditches.  But  even 
before  the  time  of  Christ,  Roman  farmers,  and  farm- 
ers of  other  countries  bordering  on  the  Mediterra- 
nean Sea,  were  using  covered  drainage  ditches. 
These  were  made  by  digging  the  necessary  ditches 
Paliet  thru  the  wet  areas  of  a  farm,  placing  brush,  sticks 

End  -view  of  Horse  or  stones  in  the  bottom  and  then  covering  them  with 
shoe  Tile,  the  first  drain  the  soil.  Thus  it  is  seen  that  mere  surface  drainage 
uie  made.  of  overflowed  lands  was  soon  followed  by  subsur- 

face drainage  which  was  designed  to  remove  the  surplus  water  from 
the  soil  itself. 

These  ancient  farmers  soon  found  that  these  subsurface  ditches, 
which  were  filled  with  sticks,  twigs  or  stones  and  covered  over  with 
dirt  so  as  not  to  interfere  with  working  the  fields,  filled  or  clogged  up 
so  they  did  not  work  so  well.  This  led  to  building  a  channel  in  the 
bottom  of  the  ditch  with  flat  stones  of  more  or  less  regularity  in  size 
and  shape,  which  did  not  clog  up  so  readily  because  there  was  a  con- 
tinuous open  channel  thru  which  the  water  could  flow  unimpeded. 
The  chief  fault  to  be  found  with  this  type  of  ditch  was  that  too  large 
openings  existed  between  the  stones  because  of  unavoidable  irregular- 
ities in  their  size  and  shape.  So  that  these  also  would  fill  up  in  time, 
tho  not  so  quickly  by  years  as  did  those  more  ancient  types  of 
covered  ditches. 

Even  the  use  of  clay  tile  for  land  drainage  is  not  a  new  thing,  not 
by  several  hundred  years.  The  farmers  of  France  are  given  the  credit 
of  being  the  first  to  use  clay  tile  for  the  construction  of  farm  drainage 
ditches.  They  used  a  modified  form  of  the  medieval  clay  roofing  tile 
for  this  purpose.  A  cross  section  or  end  view  of  one  of  these  tile 
resembled  a  horse  shoe,  and  they  are  known  as  ''horse  shoe  tile" 
because  of  this  resemblance.  A  flat  piece  of  burned  clay  the  length 
of  a  tile,  called  a  "pallet,"  was  laid  in  the  bottom  of  the  ditch  and  a  tile 
was  then  laid  on  top  of  it  with  its  open  side  down.  Thus  the  pallet 
closed  the  open  side  of  the  horse  shoe  shaped  tile  and  so  made  a  closed 
tube  for  the  water  to  flow  thru.  The  exact  date  when  these  clay  tile 
were  first  used  for  land  drainage  in  France  is  not  known,  but  is 
supposed  to  have  been  not  later  than  the  fourteenth  or  the  fifteeenth 
century. 

The  use  of  clay  tile  for  farm  drainage  became  a  lost  art  in  France, 
forgotten  and  unknown  to  her  farmers  for  many  generations.  In  the 
seventeenth  or  the  eighteenth  century  it  was  again  developed  in 
England.  The  same  horse  shoe  shaped  tile,  modified  from  the  shape 
of  the  clay  roofing  tile,  was  also  the  first  form  used  in  England.  These 
tile  were  first  made  by  hand,  and  consequently  were  very  costly. 
The  first  machine  for  making  drain  tile  was  developed  in  England  in 
1841.  This  greatly  reduced  the  cost  of  drain  tile,  and  correspondingly 
increased  their  use. 

John  Johnston,  of  near  Geneva,  New  York,  was  the  first  man  to 
tile  land  in  America.  At  great  expense  he  imported  hand  made,  horse 
shoe  shaped,  burned  clay  tile  from  his  native  Scotland  in  1835.  His 
neighbors  came  from  many  miles  around  to  view  this  "something  new 


under  the  sun"  and  to  tell  him  that  they  would  poison  and  ruin  his 
land.  But  when  the  wheat  crops  he  reaped  from  his  cold  clay  soil 
increased  from  ten  or  fifteen  bushels  an  acre  to  forty  and  even  fifty 
bushels  an  acre  some  of  them  were  convinced  that  maybe  he  was  not  a 
fool  after  all.  Some  very  few  even  following  his  example.  The  result 
was  that  in  1848  one  of  those  English  machines  for  making  tile  was 
imported  into  this  country.  By  1851  Johnston  had  sixteen  miles  of 
tile  ditches  on  his  farm.  These  tile  which  were  laid  seventy  to  eighty 
years  ago  are  still  working  successfully  and  the  old  Johnston  home- 
stead is  one  of  the  finest  farms  in  that  part  of  New  York,  one  of  the 
historic  places  of  that  state. 

So  you  see  that  farm  drainage,  and  even  clay  tile  drainage,  is  not 
something  new  and  untried.  Land  drainage  is  as  old  as  the  written 
history  of  the  world.  The  use  of  clay  tile  for  sanitary  drainage  or 
sewage  disposal  is  also  as  old  as  is  the  written  history  of  the  world. 
And  the  use  of  clay  tile  for  farm  drainage  is  several  centuries  old. 
Until  very  recent  years  tile  drainage  has  been  confined  to  "wet"  lands. 
Its  purpose  has  been  only  to  remove  surplus  water  from  land  too  wet 
for  the  production  of  tilled  crops.  But  in  recent  years  it  has  been 
realized  that  tile  will  very  materially  benefit  soil  which  is  not 
ordinarily  considered  to  be  "wet."  More  progressive  farmers  are  now 
tiling  high  ground  which  the  ordinary  man  does  not  consider  needs 
tiling,  and  they  are  finding  that  the  investment  so  made  is  returning 
big  dividends.  Soils  which  are  "tight,"  but  not  "wet ;"  soils  which  are 
"cold,"  but  not  "wet"  respond  very  markedly  to  tile  drainage.  They 
loosen  up  and  become  mellow  to  the  depth  of  the  tile  ditches,  thus 
permitting  deeper  penetration  by  the  plant  roots  and  a  more  free 
circulation  of  air  thru  the  soil ;  they  become  warm  and  "quick ;"  all 
of  these  increase  greatly  the  rapidity  of  crop  growth  and  the  quantity 
and  quality  of  yields. 

There  can  be  no  mystery,  no  sorcery  or  witchery,  about  anything 
which  has  been  practiced  so  long  as  has  farm  drainage.  Of  course,  all 
that  can  be  known  about  it  is  not  yet  known.  But  all  that  is  needed 
to  be  known  about  it  to  convince  any  reasonable  man  that  it  is  a 
good  business  investment  to  tile  his  land  is  already  known.  The 
effect  on  his  crops,  and  on  his  net  income,  is  well  known,  and  is 
proven  by  centuries  of  actual  practice.  Surely,  no  sane  man  needs  any 
more  argument  than  that  to  convince  him. 

This  little  book  has  been  written  for  the  purpose  of  presenting 
to  the  farmers  of  this  country  in  a  very  brief  and  simple  way  the 
argument  why  they  cannot  afford  not  to  tile  their  farms.  Much  of 
it  has  been  written  to  explain  in  that  same  simple  manner  the  processes 
by  which  tile  drainage  increases  the  quantity  and  the  quality  of  the 
crops  which  are  grown  on  the  land.  Still  more  of  it  has  been  written 
so  that  my  brother  farmers  may  know  the  fundamental  principles  in- 
volved in  planning  and  in  constructing  a  good  and  'efficient  system 
of  tile  ditches  to  meet  the  conditions  existing  on  their  farms. 

It  is  written  for  farmers  who  own  land  which  is  not  paying  its 
owners  as  large  profits  as  it  should  pay  them,  because  it  is  not  pro- 
ducing crops  of  as  large  yields  or  as  high  quality  as  it  is  able  to,  or 
should,  produce.  It  is  written  by  a  farmer  who  has  worked  wet,  un- 


tiled  land ;  who  has  tiled  it  and  then  worked  it  after  the  tile  have  done 
their  duty.  It  is  written  by  a  farmer  who  has  made  an  extensive 
study  of  the  theory,  and  an  extensive  observation  of  the  practice  and 
the  results,  of  land  drainage.  It  is  not  written  to  make  money  for 
the  author,  for  only  those  who  write  interesting  fiction  make  money 
out  of  books.  It  is  written  to  make  more  money  for  those  who 
read  it  and  follow  the  advice  given  in  it.  It  is  written  to  do  the 
author's  best  to  serve  his  nation  in  this  crisis  by  helping  to  increase 
our  food  supply,  when  he  is  unable  to  serve  by  wearing  the  khaki  as 
he  once  wore  it. 

The  author  realizes  that  the  subject  of  "What  Tile  To  Use"  is 
one  which  has  been  avoided  religiously  by  other  authors  writing  on 
the  subject  of  tile  drainage.  But  my  own  experience  taught  me  the 
importance  of  the  subject  of  what  tile  to  use,  and  the  difficulty  I  had 
in  answering  the  question  for  myself  showed  me  how  difficult  it  is 
for  any  one  to  get  reliable  information  on  it.  The  quality  of  the  tile 
buried  in  the  ground  will  make  or  ruin  a  drainage  system,  it  will  make 
or  break  the  man  who  makes  the  investment.  He  should  be,  and  is, 
vitally  interested  in  that  part  of  the  subject  of  tiling;  fully  as  much 
as  in  any  other  part  of  it.  It  is  a  question  which  the  average  man 
is  unable  to  answer  for  himself,  and  he  finds  it  very  difficult  to  find 
any  unbiased  advice  or  opinion  on  the  subject.  The  Professors  of  our 
colleges  and  experiment  stations  always  avoid  or  side  step  the  ques- 
tion for  fear  of  possible  criticism  of  their  motives.  Realizing  the  im- 
portance of  the  question,  I  have  discussed  it  frankly  and  fearlessly  in 
the  last  chapter  of  this  book,  under  the  title  of  "What  Tile  To  Use."  I 
am  simply  a  farmer,  with  no  "professional  dignity"  to  preserve ;  I  am 
writing  this  book  for  the  benefit  of  farmers;  I  feel  that  this  book 
would  be  incomplete  and  unsatisfying  to  its  readers  without  a  discus- 
sion of  this  subject.  So  I  have  discussed  it  and  expressed  my  views 
frankly  and  without  any  apology  other  than  this  explanation  of  my 
reasons  for  doing  so. 

JAMES  A.  KING. 

Otranto  Station,  Iowa 

1918. 


Table  of  Contents 


Page 
CHAPTER  I— Tile  Benefits  in  a  Nutshell 1 

Increases: — the  tillable  acres, — the  yield — quality  of 
farm  products, — farm  value.  Decreases: — labor,  crop 
production  costs, — overhead. 

CHAPTER  II— When  Tiling  is  Necessary 4 

When  crops  start  slowly,  do  not  grow  well, — or  fire  in 
dry  weather — kinds  of  weeds  which  grow  there — if  the 
soil  is  tight — when  there  are  springy  places — when 
there  is  standing  water. 

CHAPTER  III— When  Tiling  Gives  the  Proper  Water  Supply 6 

Water  requirements — removes  the  surplus  water —  in- 
creases the  supply  of  available  capillary  water — restores 
the  capillary  water  in  dry  seasons. 

CHAPTER  IV— How  Tiling  Gives  The  Proper  Heat  Supply 11 

Heat  needed  for  seed  germination,  — for  plant  growth 
— how  heat  is  stored  in  the  soil — how  water  effects 
amount  of  heat  absorbed  by  soil — how  to  make  cold 
soil  warm. 

CHAPTER  V — How  Tiling  Gives  The  Proper  Air  Supply 16 

Why  air  is  needed — how  air  enters  the  soil — how  tile 
helps  this  ventilation. 

CHAPTER  VI— How  Tiling  Increases  Available  Plant  Food  Supply 19 

Sources  of  plant  food — how  tile  increases  the  available 
food  supply. 

CHAPTER  VII— How  Tiling  Effects  the  Growing  Season 21 

Lets  you  plant  earlier — lets  you  cultivate  quickly — keeps 
the  plants  growing  all  the  time. 

CHAPTER  VIII— How  Tiling  Reduces  Costs  of  Production 23 

How  tiling  effects  labor — increases  production  and  so 
decreases  unit  costs. 
Summary  of  Tiling  Benefits 25 

CHAPTER  IX— How  Tile  Work 26 

How  water  moves  through  soil — why  soil  is  wet — how 
this  is  overcome — water  table. 

CHAPTER  X— Location  of  Drains 29 

Laterals  on  level  land — laterals  on  rolling  land — spouty 
spots  in  level  land — spouty  spots  on  hill  sides. 

CHAPTER  XI— Distance  between  Laterals 33 

Tightness  of  soil — amount  of  rainfall — levelness  of  sur- 
face— depth  of  tile. 

CHAPTER  XII— How  Deep  to  Lay  Tile 36 

Depth  of  water  table — water  supply — heat  supply — 
frost  level — muck  or  peat  soils — water  under  pressure. 

CHAPTER  XIII— What  sizes  of  tile  to  use 40 

How  diameter  effects  capacity — how  grades  effect  capa- 
city— best  sizes  of  laterals — best  sizes  for  mains. 

CHAPTER  XIV— Some  Very  Important  Points 45 

When  tiling  do  a  good  job — plan  your  system  carefully 
— connecting  ditches — making  a  turn — 'making  a  joint — 
shaping  the  bottom — surface  intakes — silt  basins — pro- 
tect the  outlets. 

CHAPTER  XV— What  Tile  to  Use 51 

Why  best  tile  is  the  cheapest — buy  of  a  reliable  firm — 
cement  tile — clay  tile. 

CHAPTER  XVI— Why  Denison  Tile  Are  Best  (fly  Amos  P.  Potts} 56 

The  raw  materials — why  we  mix  these  two  materials — 
the  double  process — advantages  of  double  process  of 
manufacture. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Tile  Benefits 
In  a  Nutshell 

Increases  the  Tiling  makes  the  best  land  out  of  your  worst.  The 
tillable  acres  wettest  land  on  your  farm  is  the  richest.  The  rich- 
ness of  higher  ground  washes  down  onto  it  and 
lodges  there.  But  that  richness  is  no  good  to  you  because  you  can't 
work  it.  Tile  that  wet  land  and  it  is  no  longer  wet.  But  it  is  ideally 
moist  for  growing  crops.  It  is  that  way  all  the  time.  What  was  your 
worst  land,  is  now  your  best.  What  was  your  most  useless  land,  is 
now  your  most  useful.  What  was  earning  you  nothing,  is  now  earn- 
ing you  the  most. 

It  is  much  cheaper  to  tile  out  the  wet  parts  of  your  farm  than  it 
is  to  buy  another  farm  just  like  it,  to  increase  your  tillable  acres.  The 
University  of  Minnesota  reports  its  experience  of  this  kind.  The  till- 
able land  of  one  of  the  University  farms  cost  $129.72  an  acre.  The  wet 
land  was  tiled  at  a  cost  of  $61.50  an  acre.  So  that  tiling  increased  the 
tillable  acres  at  less  than  one  half  the  purchase  price  of  land  which 
was  no  better,  to  say  the  least. 

Increases  the  yield  Many  an  untiled  quarter  section  is  producing 
from  tillable  acres  no  more  than  is  a  neighboring  eighty  which 

is  well  tiled,  but  which  is  no  better  in  any 

other  way  than  is  the  quarter  section.  If  that  quarter  section  were 
tiled  it  would  produce  as  much  as  a  half  section  of  the  same  kind  of 
land  it  was  before  it  was  tiled.  The  annual  production  of  the  farm 
would  be  doubled  without  increasing  the  cost  of  that  production. 

Increases  the  quality  Profits  from  a  farm  are  regulated  largely  by 
of  all  farm  products  the  qualit7  .of  it?  products.  High  quality 

products  bring  higher  prices  than  do  those 

of  inferior  quality.  Tiled  fields  produce  high  quality  products  every 
year.  Untiled  fields  produce  good  quality  crops  only  in  very  favor- 
able seasons.  Tiled  lands  pay  profits  every  year.  Untiled  lands  pay 
profits  only  occasionally. 

The  farms  which  earned  profits  in  the  wet  years  of  1915  and  1917 
were  the  ones  which  produced  crops  of  good  quality  as  well  as  of 
large  quantity.  Those  farms  were  well  tiled.  The  farms  which  failed 
to  earn  profits  those  years  were  the  ones  which  produced  crops  of  very 
inferior  quality,  regardless  of  their  quantity.  Those  farms  were  the 
ones  most  in  need  of  tiling.  The  same  rains  fell  on  the  tiled  fields  as 
fell  on  the  untiled.  The  same  cold  winds  blew  across  the  one  as  blew 
across  the  other.  The  same  amount  of  sun  shone  on  the  untiled  fields 
as  shone  on  the  tiled.  But  the  tiled  fields  produced  larger  yields,  and 
of  far  better  quality,  than  did  the  untiled  fields.  And  so  the  tiled 
fields  paid  profits,  while  the  untiled  did  not. 

1 


Decreases  the  labor  -A.  g°°d  seed  bed  is  prepared  with  less  labor 
costs  of  production  m  we^  t^d  land  than  in  untiled  land.  Crops 

are  kept  well  cultivated  with  less  labor  on 

well  tiled  land  than  on  untiled  land.  The  yield  is  larger  per  acre  on 
the  well  tiled  land  than  on  the  untiled.  So  that  the  labor  cost  is  not 
only  less  per  acre,  but  it  is  a  great  deal  less  per  bushel  or  per  ton. 


Decreases  overhead 
cost    of    production 


Few  men  figure  overhead  cost,  but  it  is  a 
fixed  charge  which  should  be  deducted  from 
the  gross  income  before  crediting  a  year's 
business  with  a  profit.  Where  the  land  is  well  tiled,  and  so  is  pro- 
ducing at  full  capacity,  the  interest  on  the  money  you  have  invested 
in  land  is  spread  over  a  larger  production  of  crops  and  of  livestock 
than  where  part  of  your  land  is  so  wet  as  to  be  partly  or  entirely 
useless  and  unproductive.  The  interest  and  depreciation  on  the  in- 
vestment in  machinery,  buildings  and  other  improvements  is  also 
spread  over  a  larger  production  of  crops  and  of  livestock.  This  makes 
your  overhead  charge  for  interest  and  depreciation  per  unit  of  crop 
or  livestock  production  smaller  on  well  tiled  land  than  on  untiled 
land. 


A   close-up   view  of  a  part   of  the  field  shown   on  page  3.     This  photograph  shows   the 
swamp-like  condition  before  the  land  was  tiled  and  shows  why  it  paid  no  income  to  its  owner. 


Increases  the  value  Mare  of  the  i^rm  fortunes' ol'l'oaay  have  been 
of  your  farm  made  from  the  increase  in  the  market  value  of 

the  land  than  have  been  made  by  a  gradual 

accumulation  of  the  net  profits  from  working  the  land  year  after  year. 
By  tiling  the  wet  acres  on  your  farm  you  increase  its  selling  value, 
because  you  have  increased  its  producing  value.  The  amount  of  that 
increase  will  be  greater  than  the  cost  of  the  tiling. 

Tiling  increases  the  renting  value  of  your  farm.  By  increasing 
the  yield  from  a  farm  you  increase  the  share  rent  you  get.  By  increas- 
ing the  yielding  ability  of  a  farm  you  increase  the  cash  rent  you  can 
get  for  it.  Mr.  John  Horrigan  had  been  renting  his  farm  near  Ply- 
mouth, Iowa,  for  three  dollars  an  acre.  He  tiled  the  entire  farm  at  a 
cost  of  thirty  dollars  an  acre.  Since  tiling  it  he  has  gotten  seven  dol- 
lars and  a  half  an  acre  rent  for  it. 


View  of  field  part  of  which  is  shown  on  page  2.    This  photograph  of  an  excellent  crop  of  flax, 
afte*  the  land  was  tiled,  was  taken  two  months  after  the  one  shown  on  page  2. 


CHAPTER  II. 

When  Tiling 
Is  Necessary 

When  crops  On  practically  every  farm  there  will  be  found  fields 
start  slowly  or  sPots  where  the  seeds  sprout  slower  than  on  the 
rest  of  the  farm,  or  in  the  rest  of  that  field.  This  is 
because  the  surface  layer  of  soil  in  which  they  have  been  planted  is 
cold  and  wet,  and  is  lacking  in  air ;  all  three  of  which  interfere  with 
the  proper  germination  of  the  seed.  Either  the  subsoil,  or  the  surface 
layer  itself,  is  so  tight  that  the  surplus  water  cannot  escape  before  it 
has  done  damage  to  the  germination  of  the  seeds. 

When  crops  do       The  stalks  of  the  plants  are  smaller  than  they 

not     grow  well       should  be.     They  are  slender  and  spindling,  the 

leaves  are  narrow  and  thin  instead  of  being  broad 

and  thick.  The  color  of  them  is  a  pale  yellowish  green,  instead  of  be- 
ing a  rich  dark  green.  In  no  respect  are  the  plants  as  tall,  large  and 
rugged  as  they  are  on  the  other  parts  of  the  farm.  This  is  all  indisput- 
able evidence  that  the  soil  needs  tiling. 

When  crops  fire     The  crops  growing  on  untiled  ground  are  the  first 

in    dry  weather      anywhere  around  to  show  damage  from  drought. 

First  the  leaves  wilt.     They  are  not  as  crisp  and 

fresh  looking  as  in  other  parts  of  the  field  or  farm.  Then  they  begin  to 
roll  up,  rolling  from  the  edges  in  toward  the  midrib.  In  all  respects 
they  show  droopy  and  wilty.  At  the  same  time,  the  surrounding 
crops  on  well  tiled  land  are  fresh,  crisp  and  full  of  life.  That  plot 
of  ground  is  suffering  from  the  effects  of  having  had  too  much  soil 
water  during  the  early  part  of  the  season.  The  roots  could  not  pene- 
trate deeply  enough  to  have  access  to  a  deep  supply  of  moisture  in 
these  later  stages  of  their  growth.  So  they  are  the  first  to  suffer  from 
dry  weather.  This  in  itself  is  sufficient  proof  that  such  a  plot  of 
ground  needs  tiling. 

Kind  of  weeds  which  If  the  most  vigorous  growing  weeds  found 
grow  there  on  a  P^ot  °^  ground  are  those  which  grow 

best  in  wet  soil,  then  that  plot  of  ground 

needs  tiling.  If  it  did  not  need  tiling,  then  you  would  not  find  these 
weeds  growing  there  more  luxuriantly  than  any  other  place — and 
than  any  other  weeds  growing  there — as  they  cannot  grow  and  thrive 
well  in  a  soil  which  is  properly  tiled,  or  naturally  drained,  for  the 
production  of  maximum  yields  of  our  standard  grains  and  forage  crops. 
The  following  are  among  the  most  prominent  and  common  of  these 
weeds  which  are  found  on  our  mid-western  farms :  Joint  weed.  Quack 
grass.  Devil's  Shoestring,  a  large  growing  type  of  smartweed.  Sorrel. 
"Little  Pine."  Plantain. 


If  the  soil  is  Any  field,  or  part  of  a  field,  needs  tiling  if  the  soil  or 
at  all  tight  t^ie  subsoil  is  at  all  tight.  Such  soils  will  produce 
larger  and  better  crops  year  in  and  year  out  if  they  are 
tiled  than  they  will  if  they  are  not  tiled.  It  matters  not  whether  the 
tight  soil  or  subsoil  is  in  a  level  or  rolling  field  ;  whether  it  is  on  a 
hill  top  or  at  the  bottom  of  the  hill.  As  a  heavy  rain  falls,  the  water 
is  not  soaked  into  these  tight  soils  fast  enough  to  keep  it  from 
standing  on  top  or  running  off.  It  it  stands  on  top  it  drowns  out  the 
crops  and  interferes  with  the  preparation  of  plant  food.  If  it  runs 
off  the  surface  of  a  rolling  field,  it  washes  away  the  mellow  surface 
soil.  In  either  case  it  cannot  store  a  good  supply  of  capillary  water. 

When  there  are      By  a  springy  spot  is  meant  a  place  where  the  soil 

SDringv  places         remains  wet  and  tough  after  the  soil  on  all  sides 

of  it  is  dry,  or  the  excess  water  has  disappeared 

from  it.  These  springy  spots  may  be  found  on  the  top  of  a  hill,  on 
the  side  of  a  hill,  at  the  foot  of  one,  or  out  in  the  middle  of  a  com- 
paratively level  field.  They  indicate  that  there  is  below  them  a 
layer  of  tough  and  impervious  ground  which  the  water  cannot  pene- 
trate. Instead,  it  moves  along  the  top  of  this  tight  layer  until  it 
finds  a  place  at  or  near  the  surface  where  it  makes  its  appearance. 

When  there  is      Of  course  any  one  knows  that  a  plot  of  ground  or 


standing  water  a  field  needs  tiling  when  water  stands  on  the  sur- 
face after  a  rain.  But  it  also  needs  it  just  as  much 
if  the  water  stands  near  the  surface  for  any  length  of  time.  If  you 
cannot  judge  as  to  this  from  the  condition  of  the  crops  growing  on 
the  surface  of  the  ground,  then  you,  should  dig  down  into  the  soil  and 
the  subsoil  and  examine  it  for  the  depth  of  the  water  table.  There 
does  not  need  to  be  water  standing  in  the  bottom  of  the  hole  you  dig- 
to  indicate  that  the  water  table  is  there.  The  very  fact  that  the  soil 
is  so  wet  that  the  imprint  of  your  fingers  remains  in  a  lump  of  it  after 
squeezing  it  tight  is  proof  enough.  If  there  is  any  question  in  your 
mind  as  to  whether  or  not  the  soil  or  the  subsoil  is  tight,  the  question 
may  be  settled  easily.  Dig  a  hole  to  the  depth  of  a  foot.  Fill  this 
hole  with  water  and  see  if  the  water  stands  in  it  for  any  length  of 
time.  Dig  holes  to  the  depth  of  two  feet,  of  three  feet,  and  of  four  feet. 
If  the  water  stands  for  any  length  of  time  in  any  of  these  test  holes  then 
the  soil  or  subsoil  below  the  surface  of  the  water  is  too  tight  for  the 
best  production  of  crops.  It  needs  tiling. 


Corn  on  Tiled  Land 


These  photographs  were  taken  on  the  same 
day  in  adjacent  fields  in  which  the  soil  condi- 
tions were  exactly  the  same  except  for  the  dif- 
ference made  by  proper  drainage.  The  field  in 
the  photo  above  was  tiled  the  year  before,  the 
one  in  the  photo  below  was  not  tiled.  Compare 
the  height  of  the  corn  with  Mr.  King,  who  is 
just  under  6  feet  tall. 


e 


Corn  on  Untiled  Land 


CHAPTER  III. 

How  Tiling  Gives  The 
Proper  Water  Supply 

Water  re-  Water  is  the  most  widely  influential  single  factor  in 
quirements  producing  the  best  conditions  for  plant  growth  and 
development.  If  only  the  proper  amount  of  water  is  in 
the  soil,  practically  all  other  things  necessary  for  the  production  of  a 
crop  are  in  prime  condition.  If  there  is  too  much  water,  or  not  enough 
of  it,  in  the  soil  then  these  other  things  are  also  out  of  proper  condition. 
The  water  supply  is  quite  completely  under  our  control,  and  at  a  very 
small  annual  cost  per  acre.  Therefore  it  is  most  deserving  of  our  very 
careful  consideration. 

Soil  water  is  best  classed  and  discussed  under  two  main  heads ; 
capillary  water,  and  gravitational  water.  Capillary  water  is  that  which 
clings  to  the  surface  of  the  granules  of  the  soil.  Gravitational  water  is 
that  which  fills  up  the  open  spaces  between  the  granules  of  the  soil 
when  it  rains,  and  then  runs  down  thru  the  open  spaces  of  the  soil  and 
away — if  it  has  the  chance. 

Capillary  water  dissolves  the  food  contained  in  the  particles  of  the 
soil.  The  roots  of  the  plants  absorb  this  food  laden  water  and  conduct 
it  to  all  parts  of  the  plant  where  its  load  of  food  is  taken  from  it  and 
used  for  building  up  the  tissues  of  the  plant.  This  water  is  to  the 
plants  what  the  blood  of  an  animal  is  to  its  body.  It  is  the  one  kind 
of  soil  water  which  is  of  direct  benefit  in  the  production  of  a  crop. 

As  it  sinks  down  thru  the  soil  during  and  following  a  rain,  the 
gravitational  water  restores  the  supply  of  capillary  water  by  re-wet- 
ting the  granules  of  the  soil.  It  is  very  beneficial  if  it  comes  frequently 
enough  and  in  sufficient  quantity  to  keep  up  the  proper  supply  of  capil- 
lary water.  But  it  is  very  harmful  if  it  stays  long  enough  to  keep  the 
air  out  of  the  soil  for  more  than  twenty-four  to  forty  eight  hours ;  it 
smothers  the  plant  roots  and  the  soil  bac- 
teria, and  makes  the  soil  cold. 

For  the  production  of  maximum  crops, 
the  soil  should  contain  approximately  fifteen 
to  thirty-five  per  cent  of  its  own  weight  in 
water  in  the  capillary  form.  Professor 
Jeffery,  formerly  of  the  Michigan  College 
of  Agriculture,  states  that  sandy  soils  should 
contain  an  amount  of  water  equal  to  fifteen 
per  cent,  loams  twenty  per  cent,  clays  thirty 
per  cent  and  the  finer  clays  thirty-five  per  individual  grams  of  soil  highly 

r      ,      .        ,  .     .   ,      J r^,  J  ,  •/•  magnified.     2.    Represents  a  film 

Cent    OI    their   dry    weight.       1  heSC    quantities        Of    capillary    water    surrounding 

should  be  kept  as  constant  as  possible  during      J£*  0™  &  '$C,/55SK 
the  periods  of  seed  germination  and  plant      grains  of  sou  when  there  is  no 

•*•    .  surplus  or  gravitational  water  to 

growth.  fill   those  spaces. 

6 


The  following  table  shows  the  amount  of  capillary  water  used  in 
the  production  of  different  yields  of  five  of  our  leading  field  crops,  this 
table  being  a  modification  of  the  reports  of  the  late  Professor  F.  H. 
King  of  the  Wisconsin  College  of  Agriculture. 


Crops  and  Yield  Per  Acre 

Water 

Needed 

Inches  per  acre 

Tons  per  acre 

20  bushels  of  wheat  

60 

6800 

35  bushels  of  wheat 

105 

11900 

40  bushels  of  oats...  

6.27 

710.6 

65  bushels  of  oats 

10  19 

11540 

30  bushels  of  barley...  

642 

7274 

45  bushels  of  barley 

963 

10914 

40  bushels  of  corn  

6.72 

761  5 

65  bushels  of  corn 

1092 

12370 

100  bushels  of  potatoes 

207 

234.62 

300  bushels  of  potatoes... 

6.2 

702.6 

Notice  carefully  the  amounts  of  water  which  these  crops  remove 
from  the  soil  in  producing  these  different  yields.  In  producing  one 
hundred  bushels  of  potatoes  to  the  acre,  the  plants  use  up  enough 
water  to  cover  each  acre  of  ground  slightly  over  two  inches  deep. 
In  producing  sixty  five  bushels  of  corn  to  the  acre  the  plants  use 
enough  water  to  cover  the  ground  almost  eleven  inches  deep.  Re- 
member that  the  water  so  used  by  the  plants  is  only  the  capillary  soil 
water,  that  which  clings  to  the  surface  of  the  granules  or  individual 
particles  of  the  soil.  This  table  shows  the  great  importance  of  making 
the  proper  provision  for  storing  an  abundance  of  capillary  water  in 
the  soil  where  the  roots  of  the  plants  can  get  it.  Such  provision  is 
made  only  by  thoroly  tiling,  the  land,  as  is  explained  in  succeeding 
paragraphs  of  this  chapter. 


Removes    the      There  are  only  two  ways  in  which  the  gravitational 

ciivnluc  -urafA*-  or  surplus  water  can  escape  from  the  soil.  It  must 
surplus  water  t  ,  1-1  1  1  •  ,  ,  1 

escape  thru  the  subsoil,  or  be  evaporated  into  the 

atmosphere.  The  latter  is  a  very  slow  process,  and  uses  up  heat  which 
should  be  stored  in  the  ground.  The  rapidity  with  which  the  first 
process  acts  depends  upon  the  character  of  the  subsoil,  the  slope  on 
which  it  lies,  and  the  natural  outlets  to  which  it  leads. 

Nature  has  not  furnished  in  the  various  grades  of  clay,  loam 
and  peaty  or  muck  soils,  or  in  their  subsoils,  the  necessary  channels 
and  outlets  thru  which  this  gravitational  water  can  escape  as  rapidly 
as  it  should  for  the  good  of  the  crops  growing  in  those  soils.  Until 
such  channels  and  outlets  are  furnished,  these  soils  are  "sick"  and 
unproductive.  The  remedy  must  be  provided  by  man  before  these  soils 
can  possibly  produce  maximum  crops  at  a  maximum  profit.  The  best 
known  method  of  furnishing  such  outlets,  and  developing  the  necessary 
connecting  channels  thru  the  subsoil,  is  to  do  a  good  job  of  tiling. 

Tiling  furnishes  channels  in  the  subsoil  to  which  the  surplus 
or  gravitational  water  can  run  quickly  and  naturally,  and  thru  which 
it  can  escape  into  the  open  streams  or  natural  outlets.  These  tile 
ditches  remove  the  surplus  water  which  results  from  a  rain  storm  be- 


fore  it  has  remained  in  the  soil  long  enough  to  do  any  damage  to  the 
crops  in  the  various  ways  which  are  explained  more  in  detail  in  suc- 
ceeding chapters  of  this  book. 

Increases  the  sup-     The  amount  of  capillary  water  which  is  avail- 
ply     of    available     a^e  f°r  tne  use  °f  tne  plants  depends  upon  the 
canillarv  water     following  factors:   (1)  The  depth  to  which  the 
plant  roots  penetrate  into  the  soil  and  subsoil. 

(2)  The  surface  area  of  the  particles  into  which  the  soil  and  subsoil 
is  divided,  for  it  is  the  surface  of  the  particles  to  which  the  capillary 
water  clings.  (3)  The  amount  of  water  which  is  supplied  to  the  soil 
thruout  the  season  for  the  purpose  of  restoring  the  supply  of  capillary 
water. 

In  a  poorly  drained  soil  the  gravitational  water  stands  near  the 
surface  during  the  spring  season  when  the  root  systems  of  the  plants 
are  being  formed.  Plant  roots  cannot  grow  and  live  in  the  absence 
of  air.  So  they  do  not  penetrate  down  into  this  portion  of  the  soil  or 
subsoil  in  which  gravitational  water  stands  for  any  length  of  time. 
The  result  is  that  in  such  soils  the  roots  of  the  plants  are  confined  to 
a  shallow  upper  layer  of  soil.  When  dry  weather  continues  for  any 
length  of  time  this  top  layer  of  soil  in  which  the  plant  roots  are  con- 
fined dries  out  and  the  growth  of  the  crop  is  seriously  retarded  if 
not  stopped  entirely  for  the  want  of  sufficient  water. 

But  in  a  well  drained  soil  the  gravitational  water  does  not  stand 
for  any  length  of  time  in  the  upper  few  feet  of  soil  or  subsoil.  Then 
as  the  root  systems  are  being  formed  they  are  able  to  sink  as  deep  as 
it  is  their  nature  to  sink,  because  they  can  find  the  supply  of  air 
which  they  must  have.  It  takes  a  much  longer  and  more  severe  dry 
spell  to  evaporate  all  the  water  from  the  entire  layer  of  soil  which  is 
occupied  by  the  roots  of  the  crops,  than  it  does  in  the  case  of  crops 
growing  on  poorly  drained  land. 

The  result  is  that  crops  growing  on  a  poorly  drained  field  "fire" 
quickly  when  a  dry  spell  comes  on.  While  those  crops  which  were 
planted  on  a  well  tiled  soil  continue  to  grow  vigorously  for  a  long  time 
and  successfully  and  without  injury,  withstand  a  much  longer  con- 
tinued dry  or  droughty  spell  than  do  those  planted  on  a  poorly  drained 
soil. 

The  total  area  of  surface  of  soil  particles  which  is  wetted  by 
capillary  water  is  much  greater  in  a  well  tiled  soil  than  in  a  poorly 
drained  one.  The  processes  of  alternate  wetting  and  drying  to  which 
the  soil  is  subjected  thruout  the  year  determine  the  number  of  particles 
into  which  the  soil  and  the  subsoil  are  broken  up,  and  this  determines 
On  UNTILED  LftrfJD  Co«v  On  TILED  j;/i/vr> 


This  drawing  shows  how  tile  increases 
the  available  supply  of  moisture  in  dry 
seasons  by  increasing  the  depth  to  which 
plant  roots  penetrate  in  the  spring  season. 


the  amount  of  surface  area  which  is  made  available  for  water  to  cling 
to.  (By  drying,  is  not  meant  the  total  removal  of  water  from  the  soil, 
but  simply  the  removal  of  gravitational  water  from  the  open  spaces  of 
the  soil  so  that  air  can  enter  in  the  place  of  the  water.)  The  well 
tiled  soil  is  dried  out  in  this  way  after  each  rain.  The  poorly  drained 
soils  are  often  not  dried  out  in  this  way  from  the  time  of  one  rain  to 
the  time  of  another,  probably  only  a  few  times  thruout  the  season. 

So  that  the  well  tiled  soil  is  far  more  thoroly  pulverized  than  is 
the  poorly  or  undrained  soil.  It  containes  more  open  spaces  and  a 
much  larger  total  surface  area  of  soil  particles  than  does  the  untiled 
soil.  Consequently,  as  the  gravitational  water  resulting  from  a  rain 
storm  sinks  down  thru  such  a  soil  it  soaks  up  more  of  that  water, 
and  retains  it  in  the  form  of  capillary  water,  than  does  the  untiled 
soil.  The  well  tiled  soil  will  contain  more  actual  pounds  of  capillary 
water  to  the  cubic  foot  than  will  the  untiled  soil. 

The  result  is  that  the  roots  of  the  plants  growing  in  a  well  tiled 
soil  not  only  have  access  to  more  cubic  feet  of  soil  than  do  those  grow- 
ing in  an  untiled  soil.  But  they  also  have  access  to  a  soil  which 
contains  more  capillary  water  to  the  cubic  foot  than  does  the  untiled 
soil.  So  that  tiling  such  a  tight  soil  which  is  not  properly  drained  by 
nature  enables  it  to  store  up  from  the  rains  a  much  larger  supply  of 
available  capillary  water  for  the  use  of  the  plants  during  a  season  of 
drought  than  it  was  able  to  store  away  for  such  use  of  the  plants  before 
it  was  tiled. 

Restores  the  capillary  Tiling  permits  the  supply  of  capillary 
water  in  dry  seasons  water  to be  restored  to  the^soil  in  a  dry 

season  when  there  are  no  rams.     While  it 

takes  the  unnecessary  water  out  of  the  soil  in  a  wet  season,  it  also 
brings  the  necessary  water  into  the  soil  in  a  dry  season.  Sounds 
fishy,  doesn't  it?  Well,  it  isn't  fishy;  it  is  facts.  And  here  is  the 
explanation  of  how  it  works : 

The  ability  of  air  to  hold  moisture  increases  or  decreases  with 
the  temperature  of  the  air.  Warm  air  will  hold  more  water  or  moisture 
than  will  cold  air.  If  the  air  is  only  partly  filled  with  moisture,  and 
you  cool  it  down  low  enough,  you  finally  reach  a  point  where  it  is 
"running  over  full,"  and  it  has  to  drop  some  of  its  moisture.  This  is 
just  what  happens  when  it  rains ; 
a  cold  wind  runs  into  a  warm, 
moist  one  and  cools  it  down  to  a 
point  where  it  cannot  hold  all  of 
its  water,  but  has  to  give  it  up  in 
the  form  of  rain. 

On  hot  days  the  soil  is  colder 
than  is  the  air  above  it.  In  well 
tiled  soils  there  is  a  constant 
movement  of  air  thru  the  entire 
layer  of  soil  above  the  tile.  In  dry 
seasons  the  air  which  is  blowing 
across  the  fields  already  contains 
a  large  percentage  of  moisture, 
even  tho  it  is  still  able  to  absorb 


How  tiling  affects  the  water- 
holding  capacity  of  soils  by 
making  them  finer  grained.  i. 
Shows  surface  area  of  piece  of 
soil  1  inch  cubed.  2.  Shows 
surface^  area  of  same  mass  di- 
vided into  pieces  */2  inch  cubed. 
3.  Shows  surface  area  of  same 
mass  divided  into  pieces  Yl  inch 
cubed.  The  water-holding  ca- 
pacity of  soil 
varies  with  its 
surface  area. 


11    SQtN 


9 


more  moisture  because  of  its  high  temperature.  As  it  filters  thru  the 
soil  it  becomes  cooled,  by  coming  in  contact  with  the  cooler  soil  thru 
which  it  is  moving.  Finally  before  it  again  escapes  from  the  soil  it 
has  been  cooled  to  a  temperature  low  enough  so  that  it  is  forced  to 
give  up  some  of  its  moisture.  This  moisture  is  deposited  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  particles  of  soil  with  which  the  air  is  in  contact.  This  re- 
stores, to  that  extent,  the  supply  of  capillary  moisture  in  the  soil  thru 
which  the  air  is  circulating.  It  is  just  as  tho  a  little  rain  storm  or  a 
dew  had  taken  place  within  the  soil  itself. 

Thus  a  well  tiled,  porous  soil  is  kept  more  moist  in  a  dry  season 
than  is  the  same  kind  of  soil  which  is  not  well  tiled,  and  thru  which 
the  air  cannot  circulate  so  freely.  The  extent  to  which  the  supply  of 
capillary  water  is  thus  restored  will  depend  upon  the  freedom  with 
which  the  air  circulates  thru  the  soil.  The  lines  of  tile  greatly  in- 
crease the  rapidity  of  this  circulation  of  air  thru  the  soil,  just  as  ven- 
tilating flues  facilitate  the  circulation  of  air  thru  a  building. 

The  author  observed  a  very  striking  illustration  of  this  effect 
of  tile  drains  in  a  system  which  he  installed  in  a  very  wet  farm  a  few 
years  ago.  The  system  was  completed  by  the  first  of  June.  That 
summer  was  a  very  hot  and  dry  one.  When  it  came  time  to  do  the 
fall  plowing,  that  clay  soil  was  very  hard  over  most  of  the  areas 
lying  in  between  the  lines  of  tile.  It  was  difficult  to  hold  the  plows  in 
the  ground,  and  the  soil  was  turned  up  in  large  chunks  and  lumps, 
the  plow  being  unable  to  pulverize  it.  But  for  a  distance  of  several 
feet  on  both  sides  of  each  line  of  tile,  the  soil  was  mellow  and  moist ; 
it  plowed  easily  and  the  plows  pulverized  it  into  a  fine,  mellow  condi- 
tion. Also  the  aftergrowth  in  the  stubble  on  these  moist,  mellow  strips 
of  soil  was  much  heavier  and  greener  than  in  the  rest  of  the  fields. 

At  that  time  the  system  had  not  been  installed  long  enough  for 
the  air  passages  to  be  increased  in  all  the  soil  lying  in  between  the 
adjacent  lines  of  tile.  That  is  the  reason  the  moist  condition  was 
found  only  near  the  lines  of  tile.  In  succeeding  years,  the  area  so 
effected  spread  until  in  time  the  entire  areas  in  which  lines  of  tile  were 
laid  were  in  the  same  condition  and  show  the  same  action  in  a  dry 
season. 

Thus,  by  doing  a  good  job  of  tiling,  we  are  able  to  control  the 
supply  of  moisture  in  the  soil  which  is  available  for  the  use  of  plants 
to  a  much  greater  extent  than  nature  herself  is  able  to  control  it.  We 
are  able  to  remove  the  surplus  water  from  the  soil  in  times  of  an 
over  supply.  And  yet  we  are  not  robbing  the  soil  of  any  useful  water 
which  would  have  been  stored  in  it  by  this  surplus  for  the  future  use 
of  the  plants ;  in  fact,  by  removing  it,  we  actually  increase  the  amount 
of  useful  water  stored  in  the  soil  by  it,  which  is  available  for  the 
use  of  the  plants  during  future  times  of  need.  Furthermore,  we  enable 
Nature  to  increase  the  supply  of  useful  water  in  the  soil  during 
drouthy  seasons  when  there  are  no  rains  to  store  it  in  the  ordinary 
manner  adopted  by  Nature.  Laying  tile  in  the  ground  is  not  go- 
ing against  Nature,  it  is  actually  helping  her  in  the  various  ways  she 
works  to  keep  crops  supplied  with  their  necessary  supply  of  soil 
moisture.  We  are  helping  her  do  her  work  in  both  wet  seasons  and  in 
dry  seasons. 

10 


CHAPTER  IV. 


How  Tiling  Gives 
The  Proper  Heat  Supply 

Heat    needed    for     There  is  a  certain  temperature  for  each  of  our 
seed   germination     cr°Ps  below  which  their  seeds  will  not  germin- 
ate.    There  is  also  another  temperature  above 

which  each  kind  of  seed  will  not  germinate.  Somewhere  in  between 
these  two  extremes  there  is  found  a  temperature  for  each  kind  of  seed 
at  which  it  germinates  most  quickly.  This  best  temperature  is  gener- 
ally near  the  highest  rather  than  the  lowest  temperature  at  which 
the  seeds  will  germinate  at  all.  The  colder  the  soil,  the  longer  it 
takes  the  seed  to  both  start  and  complete  the  process  of  germination. 
The  accompanying  tables  show  how  the  temperature  of  the  soil — 
not  of  the  air  above  the  soil — effects  the  germination  of  several  differ- 
ent kinds  of  seeds.  These  temperatures  have  been  determined  by  ex- 
periments made  at  the  leading  experiment  stations  of  the  world. 
The  latter  of  these  two  tables  brings  home  very  forcibly  the  import- 
ance of  having  the  soil  good  and  warm  when  the  seeds  are  planted  or 
sown  in  it. 

RANGE   OF  TEMPERATURES   AT  WHICH    SEEDS    HAVE    BEEN 
FOUND  TO   GERMINATE. 


SEED 

Lowest    temp,    at 
which    seed     was 
found  to   germinate 

Temp,  at  which  the 
seed     germinated 
the    quickest 

Temp,  above  which 
seeds  would   not 
germinate 

Wheat  

41       Fahr. 

81       Fahr. 

104       Fahr. 

Barley 

41 

83 

104 

Peas     .  .              

44^ 

84 

102 

Corn  

48 

93 

115 

Squash 

54 

115 

Red  Clover.... 

42 

70 

DAYS  REQUIRED  FOR  THE  FIRST  SPROUT  TO  COME  OUT  OF  THE  SEED  WHEN 
THE  SEEDS  WERE    KEPT  AT  THE   TEMPERATURES    INDICATED 
IN    THE    TABLE 

SEEDS 

Days    required    at   the   temperatures    indicated    below 

41  degrees 

51   degrees    |      60  degrees    |     65  degrees 

Barley-wheat     

6       days 

7 
7^     " 
8 

7 
5 

4 
22 

3       days 

ey2    " 

3 

4y2    " 
ny2    " 
W 

3 

2y2    » 

9 

ey2 

2       & 

434 

W 

2 

VA 

21/4 

W 

1034 

sy4 
^A 

iys 

134  d; 

4y4 
i 

2 

3 
2 

134 

4 

1 
334 
3 

tys 
> 

Beans 

Red  Clover                 

Flax 

Corn 

Oats 

Peas 

Pumpkin  

Rye 

Sugar  beets  

Timothy 

Examine  very  closely  the  number  of  days  required  at  the  differ- 
ent temperatures  of  the  soil  for  wheat,  barley,  clover,  corn,  oats  and 

11 


sugar  beets  to  germinate.  Notice  that  anywhere  from  five  to  nineteen 
days  may  be  lost  from  the  total  growing  season  of  these  crops  because 
the  soil  is  too  cold  to  give  their  seeds  a  good  start.  These  five  to 
nineteen  days  are  lost  from  the  most  vitally  important  part  of  the 
growing  season. 

In  a  series  of  tests  covering  a  period  of  five  years,  made  at  the 
same  latitude  as  northern  Iowa,  it  was  found  that  at  no  time  did  the 
monthly  average  soil  temperature  equal  any  of  the  temperatures 
shown  in  the  second  column  of  the  first  table — the  ones  at  which  the 
various  seeds  germinated  the  quickest.  Not  until  June  did  these 
monthly  average  soil  temperatures  reach  -sixty  degrees.  During  April 
the  temperature  averaged  thirty-five  and  forty  degrees.  During  May  it 
averaged  about  fifty-five  degrees.  A  poorly  drained  soil  will  have  a 
temperature  considerably  below  these  averages  which  were  determined 
for  the  soils  of  state  agricultural  experiment  stations,  which  are  al- 
ways above  the  average  in  quality.  It  is  only  well  tiled  soils  which 
will  give  temperatures  equal  to  these  averages,  which  are  still  below 
those  needed  for  the  best  germination  of  the  seeds. 
Heat  needed  for  The  nitrogen  fixing  bacteria  which  live  on  the 
the  plant  growth  roots  °f  clover,  alfalfa,  and  other  legumes  live  and 
work  best  at  a  soil  temperature  of  ninety  to  one 

hundred  degrees.  There  are  other  kinds  of  bacteria  which  prepare  the 
food  elements  of  the  soil  for  the  use  of  the  plants ;  these  live  and  work 
best  at  a  soil  temperature  of  eighty-five  to  ninety-eight  degrees.  They 
woik  only  slowly  when  the  temperature  of  the  soil  is  below  fifty-four. 

The  plant  roots  absorb  water  most  rapidly  at  soil  temperatures  of 
from  80  to  95  degrees.  At  temperatures  of  fifty  and  sixty  or  below 
they  absorb  water  much  more  slowly  than  at  these  higher  tempera- 
tures. This  is  why  plants  growing  in  a  warm  soil  will  appear  to  be  al- 
most bursting  with  the  water  they  contain — are  luscious,  crisp  and  brit- 
tle— when  the  same  kind  of  plants  growing  at  the  same  time  in  a  cold  soil 
will  be  limp  and  lacking  in  moisture  content,  will  be  practically  wilted. 

Thus  we  see  that  the  temperatures  at  which  the  soil  bacteria  work 
best  are  also  the  temperatures  at  which  the  crops  themselves  feed 
most  rapidly.  The  result  is  that  the  soil  temperatures  at  which  our 
standard  field  crops  grow  most  rapidly  lie  between  eighty-five  degrees, 
for  wheat  and  ninety-three  to  ninety-five,  for  corn.  This  is  several 
degrees  higher  than  the  average  temperatures  of  our  soils  during 
the  principal  growing  season  of  April  to  September.  Therefore  it  is 
very  important  that  we  should  do  everything  in  our  power  to  aid 
the  soil  in  receiving  and  storing  all  the  heat  it  can.  The  principal  way 
in  which  we  can  do  this  is  to  keep  all  the  surplus  water  out  of  it. 
How  heat  is  stored  The  chief  source  of  the  heat  found  in  the  top 
in  the  soil  layer  °f  soils  in  which  our  plants  grow  is  the 
sun.  As  the  sun's  rays  shine  upon  the  surface 

of  the  soil  they  cause  it  to  become  warmed.  A  field  sloping  to  the 
south  will  be  warmed  more  than  will  one  sloping  to  the  north,  for  the 
amount  of  heat  "deposited"  in  the  soil  depends  upon  how  nearly  to 
the  perpendicular  the  sun's  rays  strike  its  surface.  If  the  surface  of 
the  soil  is  mellow  and  finely  pulverized  more  heat  will  be  stored  in 
it  than  if  it  were  rough  and  cloddy.  These  lumps  or  clods  reflect  a 
part  of  the  sun's  rays  and  so  keep  them  from  entering  the  soil.  Some 

12 


of  the  heat  which  does  enter  the  lumps  of  dirt  is  deflected  and  given 
off  from  them  into  the  surrounding  air  instead  of  into  the  soil  beneath. 
If  the  larger  lumps  rest  on  still  smaller  ones,  so  that  there  is  a  cushion 
of  air  between  the  larger  lump  and  the  soil  beneath,  this  air  cushion 
prevents  heat  from  being  transmitted  from  the  lump  down  into  the 
soil  below. 

As  the  sun's  heat  penetrates  into  the  soil  it  warms  up,  or  raises 
the  temperature  of,  the  soil  and  the  water  which  it  contains.  Natural- 
ly the  top  layer  of  soil  is  warmer  than  is  that  below  it.  Only  the 
heat  which  is  stored  in  the  upper  layer  of  soil  passes  down  into  the 
lower  layers  of  soil  or  subsoil.  If  a  large  amount  is  stored  in  the 
surface  layer,  there  is  much  to  be  passed  on  down  into  the  subsoil ; 
if  only  a  small  amount  is  stored  in  the  surface  layer,  there  is  only  a 
little  available  to  pass  on  down  into  the  subsoil. 

We  have  what  are  known  as  warm  soils  and  cold  soils.  This 
difference  is  due  to  the  character  of  the  soils  themselves  rather  than 
to  any  difference  in  the  amount  of  sunshine  which  reaches  either  of 
them.  The  warm  soil  is  warm  because  a  large  amount  of  the  sun's 
heat  is  absorbed  by  it.  The  cold  soil  is  cold  because  only  a  small 
amount  of  heat  from  the  sun  has  been  absorbed  by  it.  The  amount 
of  water  which  may  be  contained  in  a  soil  is  the  chief  factor  in  de- 
termining whether  or  not  it  is  able  to  absorb  heat  from  the  sun.  Now 
let  us  see  how  this  works. 

ITOW   water   affects      By   experiment  it  has  been   found  that  the 

.1  f  L__I.     amount  of  heat  required  to  raise  the  temper- 

the  amount  of  heat    ature  of  Qne  pou^d  of  water  Qne  degree  .g 

absorbed  by  the  SOU  sufficient  fo  raise  one  degree  the  tempera- 
ture of  four  pounds  of  dry  peat,  and  five  pounds  of  sand,  clay  or  loam 
soils  which  are  per- 
fectly dry.  Also,  the 
amount  of  heat  re- 
quired to  evaporate  *100 
one  pound  of  water 
is  sufficient  to  raise 
one  degree  the  tem- 
perature o  f  966.6 
pounds  of  water.  This  '*°° 
means  that  in  evapo-  I40° 
rating  one  pound  of 
water  enough  heat  //Oo 
has  been  used  up  to 
raise  one  degree  the 
temperature  of  3,866 
pounds  of  dry  peat 
or  4,833  pounds  of  §]J^, 
dry  sand,  clay  or 
loam  soils. 

Since  it  requires 
more  heat  to  warm 
up  water  than  it  does 


S300 


ZOOO 


/Q00 


/6OO 


n 


The  diagonal  black  line  in  this  chart  represents  the  increased 


...       ,  amount  of  heat  required  to  warm  a  soil  as  its  water  content  is 

tO  Warm  Up  SOll,  then    increased  as  represented  by  the  black  tops  of  the  white  columns. 

13 


it  also  requires  more  heat  to  warm  up  a  wet  soil  than  it  does  to  warm 
up  a  dry  soil ;  the  wetter  a  soil  is,  the  more  heat  is  required  to  raise  its 
temperature  one  degree.  So  that  the  "Warmth"  of  a  soil,  on  a  certain 
day,  will  depend  upon  the  amount  of  water  which  it  contains ;  a  dry 
soil  will  be  warm,  while  a  wet  soil  will  be  cold,  even  tho  the  same 
amount  of  sun's  heat  has  shone  upon  the  two  of  them.  Our  principal 
soils  are  in  the  best  condition  for  the  germination  of  seeds  and  the 
growth  of  plants  when  they  contain  the  following  amounts  of  capil- 
lary water,  and  no  surplus  or  gravitational  water ;  sand,  an  amount  of 
water  equal  to  fifteen  per  cent  of  its  own  dry  weight;  loam,  twenty 
per  cent;  clay,  thirty  per  cent;  fine  clay,  about  thirty-five  per  cent. 
So  it  requires  approximately  two  and  one  half  times  as  much  heat  to 
raise  the  temperature  of  one  pound  of  surplus  water  as  it  does  to  raise 
the  temperature  of  one  pound  of  properly  moistened  soil  the  same 
amount.  And  the  amount  of  heat  required  to  evaporate  one  pound 
of  surplus  water  would  raise  the  temperature  of  about  2,400  pounds 
of  properly  moistened  soil  one  degree. 

The  accompanying  chart,  prepared  by  Professor  Jeffery,  former- 
ly of  the  Michigan  College  of  Agriculture,  illustrates  very  forcefully 
this  effect  of  the  water  content  of  a  soil  on  the  amount  of  heat  re- 
quired to  raise  its  temperature.  This  chart  takes  into  account  only 
the  problem  of  warming  the  surplus  water  in  the  soil,  not  of  evapor- 
ating this  surplus  water. 

Surplus  or  gravitational  water,  which  must  be  evaporated  to  be 
gotten  rid  of,  is  the  chief  factor  which  keeps  a  soil  cold.  All  heat  used 
in  evaporating  this  surplus  water  is  lost  so  far  as  warming  the  soil 
is  concerned.  We  can  understand  somewhat  the  reason  for  this  when 
we  remember  that  the  heat  consumed  in  evaporating  one  pound  of  this 
surplus  water  would  warm  over  2,400  pounds  of  normally  moist  soil 
one  degree.  A  series  of  tests  made  at  the  Wisconsin  State  Experi- 
ment Station,  and  covering  a  term  of  years,  shows  that  the  heat 
used  during  twenty-four  hours  in  evaporating  the  water  from  a  wet 
soil  is  enough  greater  than  that  used  in  evaporating  water  from  a 
normally  moist  soil  to  raise  the  temperature  of  the  top  one  foot  layer 
of  that  normally  moist  soil  twenty-four  degrees. 

This  is  heat  which  is  lost  from  the  wet  soil.  It  is  heat  which  is 
stored  in  the  normally  moist  soil.  Being  used  up  in  evaporating  this 
surplus  water  from  the  wet  soil,  it  is  never  again  available  to  aid  in 
the  production  of  a  crop  on  that  ground.  Stored  in  the  normally  moist 
soil  and  its  subsoil,  it  is  fed  back  again  into  the  surface  soil — and  into 
the  air  above  it — for  the  use  of  the  crops  growing  on  it  during  a  series 
of  cold  days  when  the  sun  is  not  giving  heat  to  the  soil. 

Any  crop  trying  to  grow  on  that  wet  soil  is  retarded  at  the  time 
it  is  wet  because  the  air  is  driven  out  of  the  soil.  It  is  also  retarded 
later  on  because  the  soil  has  been  robbed  of  that  much  heat  which  it 
should  have  stored  up  as  a  reserve  to  be  used  from  later  when  a  cold 
snap  comes. 

The  heat  lost  by  a  wet  soil  in  one  day  is  in  itself  a  serious  matter. 
But  think  how  much  worse  it  becomes  if  it  is  overly  wet  for  several 
days  at  a  time,  and  several  times  during  the  year.  The  total  amount 
of  heat  lost  by  that  wet  soil  in  one  year  is  equal  to  this  loss  of  one 
day  multiplied  by  the  total  number  of  days  in  the  season  that  the  soil 

14 


is  wet  and  the  heat  of  the  sun  is  being  used  to  evaporate  this  surplus 
water  rather  than  for  warming  the  soil.  It  is  bad  enough  for  one 
day  only.  But  by  the  end  of  the  season  it  has  grown  into  a  calamity. 

No  wonder  a  wet  soil  is  cold.  No  wonder  crops  grow  slowly  on 
it  and  give  only  light  yields  of  poor  quality — especially  corn.  No  won- 
der well  tiled  soils  are  warm  by  contrast  and  give  much  larger  yields 
of  much  better  quality. 

How     to     make     A  soil  is  "cold"  because  the  heat  delivered  to  it 

a  cold  soil  warm     ^y  the  sun  is  used  in  evaporating  surplus  water 

from  it,  rather  than  being  stored  in  the  soil.     In 

the  same  way  a  man  is  poor  if  the  money  he  earns  is  spent  for  some- 
thing which  does  him  no  good  rather  than  being  deposited  in  a  savings 
bank  or  being  invested  in  something  which  will  bring  him  an  income. 
In  order  to  make  that  soil  warm  we  must  remove  that  surplus  water 
irom  it  in  some  other  way  than  by  evaporating  it  with  the  heat  from 
the  sun.  If  we  remove  this  surplus  water  as  rapidly  as  it  comes  into 
the  soil  the  heat  of  the  sun  will  be  used  in  warming  up  the  soil  itself. 

The  one  successful  way  to  do  this  is  to  tile  all  land  which  is  wet 
or  "cold."  The  tile  will  remove  the  surplus  water  from  the  soil  as 
rapidly  as  it  enters  from  a  rainstorm.  In  fact,  all  clay,  loam  and  peaty 
soils  are  much  better  off  for  having  a  thoro  and  complete  system  of 
tile,  even  tho  we  do  not  consider  them  to  be  "wet"  soils.  The  gravita- 
tional water  percolates  down  thru  them  slowly  at  best.  They  also 
gradually  open  up  these  soils  so  that  the  water  settles  down  thru  them 
more  rapidly.  Thus  the  tile  change  a  cold  soil  into  a  warm  one  by  per- 
mitting the  sun's  heat  to  be  used  in  warming  the  soil  rather  than  in 
warming  or  evaporating  unnecessary  water  which  would  stand  in  the 
soil  until  evaporated  if  it  were  not  for  the  tile. 


15 


CHAPTER  V. 

How  Tiling  Gives 
The  Proper  Air  Supply 

\Vhy  air  Seeds  will  not  germinate  without  air,  it  is  absolute!} 
is  needed  necessary  for  the  chemical  processes  which  take  place 
within  the  seeds  during  germination.  Seeds  planted  in  a 
water  logged  soil  from  which  all  air  is  excluded  absorb  the  water 
which  is  necessary  for  germination.  But  if  air  is  not  admitted  to  the 
soil  and  the  seeds  within  a  few  days  after  they  are  planted  no  other 
part  of  the  process  of  germination  will  take  place,  and  in  time  the 
seeds  mold  or  rot  and  so  entirely  lose  their  ability  to  germinate.  If 
air  is  admitted  to  them  before  they  have  entirely  lost  their  vitality 
they  will  germinate.  But  their  germination  and  the  succeeding  growth 
of  the  young  plants  will  be  much  slower  than  if  the  proper  supply  of 
air  had  been  present  when  the  seeds  were  planted. 

Roots  cannot  feed  the  plants  if  there  is  no  air  in  the  soil ;  they 
must  have  air  or  they  cannot  absorb  the  food  laden  water  of  the  soil. 
If  they  are  robbed  of  air  for  a  few  days,  the  roots  will  die ;  they  drown 
just  as  an  animal  drowns,  tho  not  so  quickly.  If  all  of  the  roots  die, 
the  entire  plant  will  die.  If  only  a  part  of  the  roots  are  drowned,  the 
entire  plant  will  not  die  but  it  will  be  weakened  and  its  development 
retarded  because  it  cannot  get  as  much  food  as  it  needs. 

Food  cannot  be  prepared  for  the  use  of  the  plants  without  the 
presence  of  air  in  the  soil.  These  plant  foods  are  prepared  for  absorp- 
tion by  the  roots  by  the  action  of  certain  kinds  of  soil  bacteria.  These 
must  have  air  or  they  cannot  do  their  work.  The  nitrogen  fixing  bac- 
teria which  live  on  the  roots  of  clover,  alfalfa,  and  allied  plants  get 
their  nitrogen  from  the  air  contained  in  the  soil.  They  must  also 
have  the  oxygen  of  pure  air  or  they  can  not  perform  their  work  of  stor- 
ing or  fixing  nitrogen  in  the  root  nodules. 

In  the  soil  there  are  certain  bacteria  which  have  the  unusual 
ability  to  "manufacture"  oxygen  for  their  own  use  when  there  is  no 
fresh  air  admitted  to  the  soil  to  supply  it  to  them.  They  attack  the 
nitrates  which  have  been  prepared  for  the  use  of  the  plants  by  other 
bacteria.  They  decompose  these  nitrates  and  take  the  oxygen  from 
them  for  their  own  selfish  uses.  Thus  these  bacteria  become  oxygen 
thieves  when  they  get  oxygen  hungry.  Professor  Jeffery  reports  that 
soils  which  contained  large  quantities  of  nitrates  have  been  found  to 
contain  hardly  a  trace  after  being  in  a  water  logged  condition  for 
three  days. 

The  germination  of  seeds  and  the  growth  of  plants  use  up  and 
foul  the  air  of  the  soil  just  as  the  breathing  of  animals  uses  up  and 
fouls  the  air  in  a  building.  The  foul  and  exhausted  air  of  the  soil 
must  be  replaced  with  fresh,  pure  air  just  as  it  must  be  replaced 

16 


in  a  building  containing  animals  or  human  beings,  and  for  the  same 
reason.  If  this  ventilation  of  the  soil  is  not  carried  on  continuously, 
or  accomplished  quickly  at  frequent  intervals,  the  plants  will  die. 

So  improper  ventilation  of  the  soil  does  damage  in  these  ways : 
The  absence  of  all  air  prevents  the  germination  of  seeds  and  the 
feeding  of  the  plants,  by  their  roots.  If  continued  long  enough  it  will 
kill  the  roots  of  the  plants.  The  lack  of  fresh  air  retards  the  germina- 
tion of  seeds  and  the  growth  of  plants.  Either  the  absence  of  all 
air,  or  failure  to  replace  old  air  with  fresh,  will  cause  the  destruction 
of  the  nitrates,  one  of  the  most  important  classes  of  plant  foods  found 
in  the  soil. 

How  air  en-  The  very  weight  of  the  air  itself  causes  it  to  sink 
ters  the  soil  down  into  the  soil  when  there  are  open  spaces  for  it 
to  enter.  If  the  barometer  falls,  so  that  the  air  be- 
comes lighter  and  less  dense,  some  of  the  air  rises  out  of  the  soil. 
Then  when  the  barometer  rises,  so  that  the  air  becomes  heavier  and 
more  dense,  fresh  air  sinks  down  into  the  soil  again.  This  action 
in  itself  will  produce  a  little  movement  of  air  thru  the  soil  from  day 
to  day. 

As  the  soil  becomes  warmer,  due  to  a  hot  sunshiny  day,  the 
air  contained  in  it  expands  and  some  of  it  rises  out  of  the  soil.  When 
the  soil  cools  again  at  night  the  air  contained  irn  it  shrinks,  thus  mak- 
ing more  room  which  is  filled  with  fresh  air  from  above  ground. 

The  blowing  of  the  wind  across  the  surface  of  the  field  causes 
the  air  to  move  into  and  out  of  the  soil  to  a  greater  or  a  less  extent. 
The  natural  tendency  of  the  air  to  slowly  move  back  and  forth,  up  and 
down,  and  around  causes  a  certain  amount  of  circulation  of  the  air 
thru  the  soil. 

The  forces  mentioned  in  the  above  three  paragraphs  will,  alone, 
produce  satisfactory  ventilation  in  the  thinner  upper  layer  of  surface 
soil  if  it  is  open  and  porous  and  is  not  crusted  over  so  as  to  prevent 
the  passage  of  the  air.  But  its  effect  is  not  so  great  on  the  air  con- 
tained in  the  lower  layers  of  the  soil  known  as  the  subsoil.  This 
subsoil  must  have  a  good  "airing  out"  about  ever  so  often  just  as  we 
find  it  necessary  to  air  out  a  house  or  a  barn,  or  to  draw  a  few  deep 
breaths,  occasionally.  The  gravitational  water  resulting  from  a  good 
rainstorm  is  what  gives  the  subsoil  this  necessary  occasional  airing  out. 

As  the  surplus  water  from  a  rainstorm  sinks  down  into  the  soil 
it  fills  up  the  pores  or  open  spaces  of  the  soil.  This  forces  the  air 
out  of  the  soil.  Then  as  the  gravitational  water  disappears  from  the 
pores  of  the  soil,  fresh  air  comes  into  it  to  take  the  place  of  this  water. 
In  this  way  all  the  old  air  is  driven  out  and  a  completely  new  supply 
of  fresh  air  is  admitted  to  take  its  place. 

How  tile  help  Tile  ditches  furnish  outlets  thru  which  the  air  can 
this  ventilation  escaPe  readily  from  the  lower  level  of  the  subsoil 
as  it  is  being  driven  out  by  the  descending  water. 
This  prevents  the  formation  of  an  "air  cushion"  in  very  fine  grained 
soils  which  would  tend  to  retard  the  descent  of  the  water.  This 
permits  the  water  to  descend  into  a  fine  grained  subsoil  more  rapidly 
than  it  can  when  there  are  no  tile  ditches  in  it. 

17 


The  tile  also  furnish  channels  thru  which  the  gravitational  water 
can  escape  after  it  has  performed  its  two  functions  of  restoring  the 
supply  of  capillary  water  and  driving  out  the  dead  air  from  the  soil. 
It  should  not  be  permitted  to  remain  in  the  soil  an  hour  after  doing 
these  things ;  every  hour  it  remains,  it  is  doing  damage  in  some  one  of 
the  ways  already  mentioned.  It  does  no  good  to  drive  out  the  old  air 
if  no  fresh  air  is  admitted  in  its  place,  and  this  is  just  what  happens 
after  a  heavy  rain  in  untiled  clay  and  loam  soils. 

Tile  make  these  fine  grained,  tight  soils,  more  porous  so  that 
the  air  and  the  water  sink  into  them  more  rapidly,  and  so  the  air 
circulates  thru  them  more  readily  and  easily,  thus  aiding  in  this  im- 
portant work  of  ventilating  the  soil.  This  is  how  tile  do  this : 

When  a  wet  clay  or  loam  soil  dries  out,  it  shrinks.  This  shrink- 
age produces  cracks  which  run  in  different  directions  thru  the  soil 
and  produce  passages  for  the  air  and  the  water.  The  next  time  the 
soil  is  saturated  with  water,  it  swells  out  into  and  fills  up  these  cracks. 
If  the  surplus  water  stands  very  long,  the  soil  becomes  recemented 
into  one  solid  mass.  When  it  dries  out  again,  it  again  breaks  up  into 
only  about  the  same  number  of  chunks  and  forms  only  about  the  same 
number  of  passages  as  before. 

If  tile  ditches  are  placed  in  such  a  soil  to  remove  the  gravitational 
water  as  rapidly  as  it  reaches  them,  the  water  will  not  remain  long 
enough  to  recement  the  soil  into  the  one  solid  mass.  As  it  dries  out 
after  a  wetting,  each  of  the  former  pieces  into  which  the  soil  has  al- 
ready been  divided  is  broken  up  into  several  smaller  ones.  Finally, 
after  a  year  or  so — depending  on  the  character  of  the  soil,  this  alter- 
nate wetting  and  drying  of  these  well  tiled  soils  will  cause  them  to 
become  finely  pulverized.  This  pulverizing  of  these  tight  soils  thus 
increases  the  rapidity  with  which  water  sinks  into  and  escapes  from 
the  soils ;  this,  in  turn,  increases  the  rapidity  with  which  the  foul  air 
is  replaced  by  fresh  air. 


18 


CHAPTER  VI. 

How  Tiling  Increases  The 
Available  Plant  Food  Supply 

Sources  of  The  more  important  elements  used  as  plant  foods  are 
plant  food  carbon,  oxygen,  hydrogen,  nitrogen,  potassium,  phos- 
phorous, calcium,  magnesium,  sulphur,  chlorine  and 
iron.  The  carbon  is  obtained  from  the  air,  being  taken  in  thru  the 
leaves  of  the  plant  in  the  form  of  carbon  dioxide — a  combination  of 
carbon  and  oxygen.  The  needed  oxygen  and  hydrogen  are  obtained 
from  the  soil  water,  or  from  the  air  in  the  soil.  All  the  others  are 
obtained  from  the  soil  in  the  form  of  various  compounds,  combinations 
with  other  elements.  They  are  dissolved  by  the  capillary  water  of  the 
soil  and  then  absorbed  by  the  roots  and  conducted  to  all  parts  of  the 
plant  in  the  same  way  in  which  our  blood  conducts  the  necessary 
nourishment  to  the  various  parts  of  our  body. 

The  bulk  of  these  food  elements  contained  in  the  soil  are  in  such  a 
form,  or  exist  as  such  compounds,  that  they  cannot  be  dissolved  by  the 
soil  water,  or  at  least  such  that  they  cannot  be  used  by  the  plants. 
Nature  provides  means  in  a  good  soil  for  changing  these  into  com- 
pounds which  can  be  dissolved  by  the  capillary  water  and  used  by  the 
plant.  The  chief  means  thus  provided  is  a  variety  of  bacteria  which 
live  in  the  soil.  As  these  carry  on  their  regular  life  processes  and 
activities,  they  change  these  compounds  into  other  compounds  which 
can  be  used  by  the  plants.  We  have  already  learned  how  the  supply 
of  air  and  of  heat  in  the  soil  effect  the  activities  of  these  soil  bacteria. 

How  tile  increases  the    We  have  already  learned  how  tile  increase 
available  food   SUDD!V    ^e  warmth  of  the  soil  and  stimulate  the 

ventilation  or  replenishing  of  the  air  sup- 
ply. By  increasing  the  heat  and  the  fresh  air  in  the  soil  the  activity 
of  these  soil  bacteria  is  stimulated.  The  result  is  that  more  food  is 
made  available  for  the  use  of  the  plants  in  a  well  tiled  soil  than  in  a 
similar  soil  which  is  not  well  tiled.  By  supplying  plenty  of  fresh  air, 
the  tile  prevent  the  oxygen  thieves,  or  the  "denitrifying  bacteria"  from 
decomposing  the  nitrates,  or  nitrogen  compounds  which  have  been 
made  ready  for  the  use  of  the  plants,  and  so  robbing  the  plants  of 
this  very  necessary  food.  Thus  it  is  seen  that  tile  will  increase  the 
amount  of  food  which  is  made  available  for  the  plants  in  each  cubic 
foot  of  the  soil. 

Tile  also  increase  the  total  number  of  cubic  feet  of  soil  from 
which  the  plants  can  obtain  food.  The  tile  keep  the  gravitational  wa- 
ter out  of  the  soil  to  a  greater  depth,  and  admit  heat  and  air  to  a 
greater  depth,  than  in  untiled  land.  This  permits  these  food  prepar- 
ing bacteria  to  live  in  a  deeper  layer  of  soil.  It  also  permits  the  roots 
of  the  plants  to  penetrate  to  a  greater  depth  than  they  can  in  an  un- 
tiled soil  of  the  same  character. 

19 


Thus  it  is  seen  that  tile  increase  the  available  supply  of  food  in 
two  ways.  The  amount  of  food  which  the  plants  can  use  is  increased 
in  each  cubic  foot  of  soil.  The  number  of  cubic  feet  of  soil  in  which 
the  food  is  prepared,  and  thru  which  the  plant  roots  penetrate  in  their 
search  of  food,  is  increased.  So  tiling  a  field  increases  the  yields  of 
crops  obtained  from  it  by  increasing  the  supply  of  food  made  avail- 
able for  the  use  of  the  plants. 


20 


CHAPTER  VII. 

How  Tiling  Effects 
The  Growing  Season 

Lets  you  Tiled  ground  is  ready  to  plant  as  soon  as  the  weather 
Plant  earlier  warms  up  in  the  spring.  Surplus  water  is  removed 
from  the  ground  without  delay.  All  of  the  available 
heat  of  the  sun  is  used  to  warm  up  the  soil,  none  of  it  is  wasted  in 
evaporating  surplus  water  from  the  soil.  You  never  have  to  wait  for  a 
tiled  field  to  dry  out  so  you  can  work  it.  As  soon  as  the  frost  is  out  of 
the  ground  in  the  spring  the  soil  is  dry  enough  for  you  to  plow  it  or  do 
any  other  work  which  is  necessary  to  get  it  ready  for  planting  or  seed- 
ing. As  soon  as  the  season  has  advanced  far  enough  to  do  away  with 
all  danger  of  damage  by  frost  or  freezing,  the  field  is  dry  enough  and 
warm  enough  for  you  to  put  the  seed  into  it.  You  may  have  to  wait 
on  the  weather  man,  but  you  never  have  to  wait  on  the  ground.  And 
that  is  certainly  a  great  relief  to  you  in  a  backward  spring. 

Lets  you  cul-  Within  twenty-four  hours  or  less  after  a  heavy  rain 
tivate  quickly  storm  y°u  can  g°  into  a  well  tiled  field  and  cultivate 
it.  For  fields  of  untiled  tight  soils,  such  as  the  clays 
and  loams,  you  have  to  wait  several  days  before  you  can  get  into  them 
with  a  cultivator.  This  permits  the  tiled  fields  to  be  cultivated  more 
often  than  can  the  untiled  fields.  This  more  frequent  cultivation 
keeps  the  weeds  down  better,  conserves  better  the  moisture  in  the 
soil  and  stimulates  the  growth  of  the  plants  more.  This  increases 
the  rapidity  of  the  growth  of  the  plants  and  so  increases  the  effective- 
ness of  the  available  growing  season. 

Keeps  the  plants  Plants  growing  in  well  tiled  soil  never  stand 
growing  all  the  time  sti11  for  the  want  of  heat,  air  or  food.  Every 

day  of  the  season  they  are  right  on  the  job, 

busy  at  their  task  of  growing  and  producing  a  crop  of  grain  or  of 
forage.  But  those  which  are  growing  in  an  untiled  field  have  to  stand 
still  for  one  or  more  days  after  each  rain.  The  surplus  water  standing 
in  the  soil  keeps  out  the  air  which  they  must  have  in  order  for  the 
roots  to  absorb  food  laden  water.  Those  days  that  the  soil  is  cold 
because  the  heat  of  the  sun  is  being  used  to  evaporate  surplus  water 
from  the  soil,  instead  of  furnishing  its  heat  to  the  soil,  to  the  food 
preparing  bacteria,  and  to  the  plant  roots,  the  growth  is  very  slow  if 
there  is  any  at  all. 

The  result  is  that  crops  on  untiled  fields  cannot  grow  all  of  the 
days  of  the  growing  season,  while  those  on  well  tiled  fields  are  busy 
every  day.  There  are  many  days  when  the  crops  on  untiled  fields 
grow  only  very  slowly,  but  those  on  well  tiled  fields  grow  rapidly 
every  day ;  the  only  factors  left  to  effect  the  rate  of  their  growth  are  the 

21 


fertility  of  the  soil  and  the  warmth  of  the  air,  factors  which  have  the 
same  effect  on  the  untiled  fields. 

The  sum  and  substance  of  the  matter  is  this:  Tiling  advances 
the  growing  season;  it  permits  you  to  prepare  and  plant  a  field  sooner 
than  you  can  an  untiled  field  the  same  season  and  in  the  same  com- 
munity; this  gives  you  an  actually  longer  growing  season  for  your 
crops,  and  increases  its  length  in  the  spring  when  plant  growth  of 
the  bulk  of  our  standard  crops  is  most  rapid.  It  gives  the  plants  a 
quick  start;  this  makes  them  strong  and  vigorous  so  that  they  grow 
more  vigorously  all  the  rest  of  the  year;  a  quick  start  gives  a  strong 
growth  and  a  large  yield.  It  gives  them  more  active  growing  days 
than  have  crops  planted  in  an  untiled  field.  So  that  tiling  lengthens 
the  growing  season,  lets  the  crops  grow  each  day  of  that  longer  sea- 
son, and  makes  them  grow  more  vigorously  each  day  than  they  can 
on  untiled  fields. 


22 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

How  Tiling  Reduces 
Costs  of  Production 

Cost  of  The  only  cost  of  production  which  most  men  figure  is 

production  t^lat  °^  ^bor.  Many  count  as  a  labor  cost  only  that 
labor  which  they  have  to  hire,  they  figure  wages  for 
their  own  labor  as  a  part  of  the  profits  of  the  business.  But  this  is 
not  correct,  you  should  figure  wages  for  yourself  and  all  other  mem- 
bers of  the  family  just  the  same  as  you  figure  wages  for  the  help  you 
have  to  hire.  And  these  wages  of  yourself  and  the  other  members  of 
the  family  should  be  deducted  from  the  total  or  gross  income  from 
the  business  before  you  figure  any  of  your  income  as  being  profits  from 
the  business. 

What  are  known  as  overhead  costs  make  up  a  considerable  list  of 
charges  which  should  also  be  deducted  from  the  gross  income  before 
you  begin  to  count  profits.  These  overhead  costs  include  the  following 
charges :  Interest  on  the  total  investment,  whether  in  land,  buildings, 
machinery  or  equipment  of  all  kinds.  Taxes  and  insurance.  Depre- 
ciation on  buildings,  fences,  machinery  and  equipment. 

Then  added  to  these  labor  and  overhead  costs  are  the  costs  for 
seed,  fertilizers  and  so  forth.  These  are  actual  charges  against  the 
costs  of  producing  a  crop  whether  we  buy  them  or  produce  them  our- 
selves. And  all  of  these  costs  are  the  same  whether  the  yield  from 
the  land  is  large  or  is  small.  What  is  known  as  the  unit  cost  of  pro- 
duction is  determined  by  dividing  the  total  cost  by  the  total  units 
of  production,  the  total  number  of  bushels  or  tons  of  the  product. 

How  tiling  On  a  well  tiled  farm 'all  the  fields  are  regular  in  shape. 
effects  labor  They  are  not  cut  up  by  sloughs,  pond  holes  and  wet 
spots.  This  makes  a  very  material  difference  in  all 
the  labor  operations  involved  in  the  production  of  a  crop  from  a  field. 
The  author  had  experience  with  one  fifteen  acre  field  which  had 
fourteen  sides  to  it,  because  of  two  irregularly  shaped  sloughs  which 
cut  into  it.  This  irregularity  in  shape  of  this  field'  increased  the  labor 
required  on  it  fully  twenty-five  per  cent  over  what  it  would  have 
been  had  the  owners  tiled  it  so  as  to  give  a  regularly  shaped  twenty 
acre  field. 

The  soil  of  the  tiled  field  is  mellow,  that  of  the  untiled  field  is 
tough  and  the  footing  for  the  horses  is  heavy.  The  result  is  that 
horses  and  men  can  do  more  work  in  a  day  in  the  well  tiled  field  than 
they  can  in  the  untiled  one.  Fewer  operations  are  required  to  make 
the  soil  fine  and  mellow  for  the  planting  of  the  seed.  It  requires  less 
work  to  keep  down  the  weeds  on  tiled  land  than  on  untiled ;  the  more 
.troublesome  weeds  do  not  grow  on  it,  and  you  can  get  onto  the  ground 

23 


at  any  time  so  as  to  kill  the  weeds  while  they  are  still  small  and 
easily  killed.  The  tiled  ground  will  give  larger  yields  than  will  the 
untiled,  and  so  the  labor  of  harvesting  or  gathering  the  crop  will  be 
somewhat  greater — especially  in  the  case  of  corn.  But  this  increased 
cost  of  harvesting  will  be  practically  balanced  by  the  saving  in  the 
labor  of  production. 

Increases  production  What  is  called  the  unit  cost  of  production  is 
and  so  decreases  t^ie  cost  °^  producing  each  bushel  or  each 

ton,  or  other  unit  of  measure,  of  the  crop 

unit  costs  produced.     This  is  determined  by  dividing 

the  total  cost  of  production  by  the  total  number  of  units  of  the  crop 
produced.  So  that  a  large  production  will  give  a  low  unit  cost  of 
production,  while  a  small  yield  will  give  a  large  unit  cost  of  pro- 
duction. 

Tiled  land  will  give  larger  yields  than  will  untiled  lands.  It 
will  do  this  without  increasing  the  gross  or  total  costs.  Therefore 
tiled  lands  give  a  crop  at  a  lower  unit  cost  of  production  than  do 
untiled  lands.  The  price  you  receive  for  a  crop  is  the  same  per  unit, 
per  bushel  or  per  ton,  whether  you  have  a  large  yield  or  a  small 
yield.  So  the  tiled  land  will  give  you  larger  profits  than  will  the 
untiled  land. 


24 


Summary  of 
Tiling  Benefits 


The  benefits  which  result  from  doing  a  good  job  of  tiling  may 
be  summed  up  very  briefly  as  follows  : 

1.  It  gives  the  proper  water  supply. 

2.  It  gives  the  proper  heat  supply. 

3.  It  gives  the  proper  air  supply. 

4.  It  increases  the  available  supply  of  plant  food. 

5.  It  advances  the  growing  season. 

6.  It  lengthens  the  effective  growing  season. 

7.  It  increases  the  rate  of  growth. 

8.  It  increases  the  tillable  acres  of  your  farm. 

9.  It  increases  the  yield  from  your  tillable  acres. 

10.  It  increases  the  quality  of  all  your  field  products. 

11.  It  decreases  the  labor  cost  of  producing  your  crops. 

12.  It  decreases  the  overhead  cost  of  producing  your  crops. 

13.  It  increases  the  value  of  your  farm. 

These  benefits  are  not  confined  to  swamps  and  excessively  wet 
land,  only.  They  are  to  be  had  from  tiling  well  done  in  any  tight 
soil.  It  is  a  mistaken  idea  that  tiling  is  beneficial  only  on  very  wet 
lands.  It  will  take  only  a  few  years  for  the  increased  income  to 
repay  all  costs  of  tiling  a  field  which  is  ordinarily  considered  to  be 
a  pretty  fairly  dry  field. 


25 


Steps  in  the  Installation  of  an  Efficient 
Tile  Drainage  System. 


gineers 


«:  . 

•*"<*,   true   to   a  ,,, 


Digging  the  second  spading. 


'. 


Laying    the 


of   tile. 


A.   tile   system  with  the  main  ditch  dug   up  a  central  drain,  the  laterals  coining  into 
it    from    both    sides    on    the    "Herring    Bone"   plan. 


\  mm 


BHBi        * 


Digging    the   ditch    by    machinery.      A    very    good,    and    a     labor-saving    way. 
always  lay  the  tile  by  hand — never  by  machinery. 


But 


Fillina  ditch  with  a 
disc  harrow.  A  quick 
and  good  "way,  as  ihe 
dirt  is  "well  pulverized — 
no  big  chunks. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

How  Tile  Work 

How  water  moves     The  natural  tendency  for  water     is     to     move 

through     soil       straight  down.     This  is  due  to  the  action  of  the 

force   of  gravity.     This   force   pulls   the   water 

downward  thru  the  soil  just  the  same  as  it  makes  the  rain  or  any  other 
object  fall  to  the  surface  of  the  earth. 

But  the  particles  of  soil  with  which  the  drops  of  water  come  in 
contact  on  their  downward  journey  interfere  with  them,  they  are 
obstacles  in  the  path  of  the  drops  of  water.  The  water  cannot  pass 
directly  thru  these  particles  of  soil,  it  travels  only  thru  the  channels 
or  open  spaces  between  them.  So  when  it  strikes  one  of  them,  it  moves 
to  one  side  or  the  other  until  it  finds  a  continuation  of  the  channel 
which  leads  downward.  In  this  way  the  water  tends  to  move  down- 
ward in  a  slanting  direction,  rather  than  perpendicularly. 

\Vhy  soil  This  surplus  water  keeps  on  moving  downward  until  it 
is  wet  reacnes  a  layer  of  earth  so  tight  and  impervious  that  it 
is  unable  to  pass  thru  it.  If  this  tight  layer  is  practically 
level  there  is  no  means  for  the  water  to  escape.  If  the  rains  are  heavy 
enough  and  frequent  enough,  this  upper  layer  of  soil  becomes  saturated 
with  water.  The  only  escape  for  it  is  the  slow  process  of  evaporation. 
The  entire  area  of  level  land  underlaid  with  this  layer  of  tight  subsoil 
must  be  tiled  or  it  will  always  be  too  wet  to  grow  crops  successfully. 

If  this  tight  layer  has  any  slope,  the  water  moves  down  along  its 
surface  until  it  reaches  the  lowest  point  available.  As  the  water  moves 
down  along  this  sloping  surface  of  the  impervious  layer,  it  is  joined  by 
other  water  which  has  sunk  downward  from  the  surface  of  the  soil 
above  it.  This  naturally  adds  to  the  amount  of  water  which  moves 
along  the  next  section  of  this  tight  layer.  Finally  a  point  is  reached 
where  this  accumulation  of  soil  water  is  so  great  as  to  completely 
saturate  the  soil  clear  to  its  surface,  even  without  the  addition  of  any 
more  water  coming  down  from  above.  This  point  may  be  reached  long 
before  the  lowest  point  of  the  slope  has  been  reached. 

This  is  because  the  soil  water  has  to  move  a  considerable  distance 
horizontally  in  getting  even  a  short  distance  downward.  It  is  also  be- 
cause it  must  move  slowly,  rather  than  freely  as  in  an  open  stream. 
This  slowness  will  depend  upon  the  slope  of  the  tight  layer  of  subsoil 
and  upon  the  character  of  the  soil  thru  which  it  is  moving.  In  any  case 
a  point  is  finally  reached  where  the  soil  must  be  relieved  of  this  ac- 
cumulation of  slowly  sideways  moving  water  or  it  will  appear  as  a 
wet  spot  on  the  surface  of  the  slope,  and  all  that  portion  of  the  slope 
below  it  will  be  wet  for  the  same  reason. 

26 


How  this  Lines  of  tile  furnish  subterranean  passages  or  chan- 

nels  f°r  the  removal  of  this  soil  water  before  it  has 

111  1      .         •  re-     • 

had  a  chance  to  accumulate  in  sufficient  quantity  to 
do  damage.  These  tile  ditches  furnish  channels  thru  which  the  water 
can  escape  more  easily  and  quickly  than  by  evaporation  from  the  sur- 
face of  the  level  land,  or  than  by  making  its  way  slowly  along  the 
surface  of  the  tight  subsoil  in  the  sloping  land.  Water  is  like  every- 
thing else,  it  always  moves  along  the  lines  of  least  resistance,  or  those 
which  offer  the  least  difficulty  to  its  movement. 

Some  times  a  few  lines  of  tile  will  collect  all  of  this  water  and 
each  line  deliver  its  collection  direct  to  the  natural  outlet.  But  in 
most  cases  there  is  no  outlet  to  which  each  ditch  can  deliver  its  ac- 
cumulation of  water  without  carrying  it  a  considerable  distance  thru 
ground  which  has  no  need  of  tiling.  In  such  cases  they  are  all  made 
to  dump  their  individual  accumulations  of  water  into  one  larger  tile 
ditch  which  then  carries  it  all  to  the  outlet.  This  is  much  cheaper 
than  to  have  each  of  the  ditches  extended'  to  the  natural  outlet.  These 
individual  ditches  are  then  called  "laterals"  and  the  one  larger  ditch  is 
called  a  "main." 

Again  it  often  happens  that  there  are  several  wet  spots,  all  of 
which  finally  feed  into  the  same  natural  outlet.  A  set  of  laterals  is 
laid  in  each  of  these  wet  spots,  and  these  are  connected  into  a  larger 
ditch  for  each  wet  spot.  All  these  larger  ditches  or  mains  from  the 
different  wet  spots  then  empty  into  a  still  larger  ditch  which  carries 
the  accumulated  water  from  all  of  them  to  the  natural  outlet  cheaper 
than  all  of  the  smaller  mains  could  have  been  extended  to  the  outlet. 
In  this  case  the  largest  of  all  the  ditches  is  called  the  "main"  and  the 
smaller  main  ditches  are  called  "submains." 

Of  course  the  submains  and  the  main  each  collect  water  from  the 
ground  on  each  side  of  them,  just  as  do  the  laterals,  when  they  pass 
thru  ground  in  need  of  tiling.  Thus  they  perform  the  duty  of  a  lateral 
thru  the  ground  in  which  they  are  laid  as  well  as  performing  the  duty 
of  mains  in  carrying  to  the  outlet  the  water  which  has  been  collected 
by  the  laterals  connected  into  them. 

Water       Tne  "water  table"  is  the  bottom  of  the  layer  of  soil  from 

table          which  the  ditches  collect  or  draw  water.     Or  it  may  be 

described  as  the  top  of  the  layer  of  subsoil  from  which  they 

are  unable  to  draw  rwater,  and  which  is  then  left  permanently  wet. 

This  water  table  is  never  level.  Out  halfway  between  the  lines  of 
tile,  it  is  higher  than  immedi- 
ately over  them,  or  close  to 
them.  This  is  because  the  soil 
interferes  with  the  horizontal 
or  side  ways  movement  of  the 
water  even  more  than  with  the 
downward  movement ;  the 
strongest  force  which  is  acting 
on  it  is  the  force  of  gravity 
which  is  pulling  it  downward. 
This  results  in  the  surface  of 
the  water  being  curved  rather 
than  perfectly  flat. 


LQTERFILS 


Map    of   a   tile   system   which   shows   relation   of 
mains    sub-mains  and  laterals. 

27 


The  degree  or  the  roundness  of  this  curve  will  depend  upon  the 
character  of  the  soil.  In  a  very  fine  grained  clay  soil,  thru  which  the 
water  moves  slowly  and  with  great  difficulty,  the  surface  of  the  table 
will  be  more  sloping  than  in  a  more  open  soil  thru  which  the  water 
can  move  with  greater  ease.  The  highest  point  of  the  table  will  be 
half  way  between  two  adjacent  ditches.  In  a  tight  soil  this  highest 
point  will  be  nearer  the  surface  than  in  a  more  open  soil. 

This  is  why  a  system  of  laterals  will  drain  a  mellow  soil  thoroly 
when  placed  further  apart  than  they  will  in  a  tight  soil.  It  is  why 
they  will  "draw  further"  in  an  open  or  mellow  soil,  such  as  a  sandy 
loam  or  a  jointed  clay,  than  in  a  pure  clay  soil.  They  will  not  only 
draw  further,  but  they  will  also  draw  faster,  than  in  the  tighter  soil. 

When  a  system  of  drains  in  a  very  tight  soil  is  new,  this  table 
has  a  steep  slope  back  from  the  tile  ditches.  For  several  years  this 
slope  becomes  more  gradual  or  flat  until  the  highest  part  of  it  finally 
reaches  a  point  much  nearer  the  level  of  the  tile  in  the  ditches  than 
when  the  system  was  first  put  in.  This  is  why,  the  first  one  to 
three  years  of  its  life,  a  system  of  tile  does  not  show  as  good  effect 
on  the  ground  furthest  from  the  ditches  as  it  does  on  that  close  up 
to  them.  But  after  the  system  has  been  in  long  enough  for  the  high 
point  of  the  water  table  to  reach  its  permanent  lowest  point  no  dif- 
ference will  be  noticed  between  the  crop  growing  immediately  over 
the  tile  and  that  growing  out  half  way  between  adjacent  ditches. 

During  a  heavy  rain  storm  this  water  table  is  raised  temporarily. 
The  water  which  is  in  the  soil  lieing  immediately  over  the  tile  reaches 
them  quicker  than  does  that  from  a  short  distance  to  either  side,  and 
still  quicker  than  does  that  from  some  distance  away.  Then  after  the 
rain  has  ceased,  this  temporarily 
raised  water  table  again  lowers  grad- 
ually until  it  again  reaches  the  loca- 
tion of  the  permanent  table.  The 
speed  with  which  it  is  lowered  after 
a  rain  will  depend  upon  the  tightness  Showing  action  of  water  table  L  Lo_ 

Of  the  SOll,  being  more  Slow  in  a  tight    cation    at    end    of    rainstorm.     2.    Location 

soil  than  in  a  mellow,  open  soil. 


GROUND        SORFRCE 


one  or  two   days  later, 
table. 


28 


CHAPTER  X. 

Location  Of  Drains 

Wherever  possible,  mains  and  submains  should  be  laid  along  the 
natural  courses  thru  which  the  surface  water  drains.  These  generally 

five  the  best  grade  which  is  available  under  the  existing  field  con- 
itions.  At  the  same  time  they  generally  place  the  mains  in  the  best 
location  from  the  standpoint  of  connecting  the  laterals  into  them. 

This  however  does  not  mean  that  a  main  ditch  should  follow  all 
the  meanderings  of  these  natural  water  courses  which  wander  all  over 
a  low,  level  hollow  in  reaching  their  destination.  They  should  reach 
their  destination  by  the  most  direct  routes  possible.  Still,  they  must 
make  whatever  bends  and  turns  are  necessary  to  permit  the  connec- 
tion of  other  ditches  into  them  without  having  to  carry  these  ditches 
across  or  thru  ridges  or  wide  low  spots. 

Remember  that  a  short  ditch  which  runs  direct  to  its  destination 
will  have  a  steeper  fall  or  grade  than  if  it  had  gone  a  round-about  way 
to  reach  the  same  destination.  And  it  is  important  to  lay  all  lines  of 
tile  so  as  to  give  them  the  most  fall  possible.  This  fall  or  grade  of 
a  ditch  has  a  great  deal  to  do  in  determining  the  amount  of  water 
which  will  run  thru  it  in  an  hour  or  a  day. 

In  level  ground,  lay  the  laterals  in  long  parallel  lines  with  as  few 
submains  as  possible.  This  allows  the  area  to  be  drained  with  the 
fewest  rods  of  ditch  possible. 

If  a  hill  or  hill-side  slopes  in  only  one  direction,  then  lay  the 
laterals  down  this  slope.  This  gives  them  the  maximum  amount  of 
grade  and  so  keeps  them  free  of  silt.  The  steeper  the  grade,  the 
swifter  the  current  in  the  ditch.  The  swifter  the  current  in  a  ditch, 
the  less  sediment  will  be  deposited  in  it. 

If  the  hill  side  slopes  in  two  directions,  lay  the  laterals  along  the 
longest  slope.  This  longer  slope  is  generally  parallel,  with  the  surface 
water  channel  at  the  foot  of  the  slope.  The  laterals  laid  in  this  same 
direction  will  intercept  the  water  as  it  works  its  way  down  the  face 
of  the  hill  side  and  keep  it  from  working  its  way  to  the  surface. 

In  the  case  of  springy  spots,  locate  the  laterals  so  as  to  intercept 
the  subsurface  water  before  it  has  had  time  to  rise  to  the  surface,  or 
into  the  surface  layer  of  soil.  This  is  much  better  than  merely  carry- 
ing it  away  after  it  has  risen. 

Of  course  no  hide-bound  rules  can  be  laid  down  to  govern  every 
man  in  the  location  of  all  the  ditches  on  his  farm.  Conditions  and 
problems  on  your  farm  will  probably  be  more  or  less  different  from 
those  on  the  farm  of  a  neighbor,  or  a  man  in  another  county  or  state. 
These  individual  conditions  on  your  farm  must,  of  necessity,  determine 
the  methods  to  be  used.  But  a  knowledge  of  the  general  principles 
to  be  observed  in  solving  problems  of  different  kinds  will  be  of  much 
value  to  you  in  planning  your  system  so  as  to  give  the  largest  pos- 
sible efficiency. 

29 


Laterals  on 
level     land 


In  broad,  level  areas,  where 
several  lines  of  laterals  are 
needed  to  carry  off  the  wa- 
ter properly,  you  are  given  a  chance  to 
choose  between  the  two  principal  methods 
of  arranging  laterals,  described  as  follows : 
The  "Herring  Bone"  system  is  so  named 
because  of  its  resemblance  to  the  backbone 
and  the  ribs  of  a  smoked  herring.  A  main 
ditch  runs  thru  the  middle  of  the  area.  The 
area  on  both  sides  of  this  main  is  drained 
by  a  series  of  parallel  laterals  which  run 
practically  perpendicular  to  this  main  ditch. 
Notice  that  a  lateral  on  one  side  of  the 
main  enters  at  a  point  midway  between  the  entrance  to  it  of  two 
laterals  on  the  other  side.  This  is  so  that  two  streams  of  water  will 
not  enter  the  same  point  of  the  main  from  opposite  sides  of  it.  Two 
streams  entering  from  opposite  sides  in  this  way  would  clog  and  inter- 
fere with  the  flow  of  water  thru 

the  main  much  more  than  is  done   

where  only  one  stream  enters  it 

at  a  given  point. 


The  Gridiron  system. 


The  Herring  Bone  system. 


The  "Grid  Iron"  system  is  so   

named  because  of  its  resemblance   

to   the   grid   iron   or  the   broiling   

iron  of  the  kitchen.    It  consists  of   

a  main   ditch  running  across  the   

lower  end  of  the  wet  area  with  one   

set  of  parallel  laterals  running  in-   

to  it.    This  is  one  of  the  most  ef- 
ficient systems  possible  for  tiling 
level  areas.     It  requires  a  smaller 
total  length  of  ditches  to  tile  a  given  area  than  does  the  Herring  Bone 
system  of  grouping,  for  these  reasons : 

In  ordinary  soils  these  mains  will  thoroly  drain  all  ground  for  a 
distance  of  about  fifty  feet  on  each  side.    That  portion  of  each  lateral 

passing  thru  this  area  drained  by 

the  main  is  wasted  so  far  as  con- 

cerns  the  drainage  of  the  ground 

thru  which  it  is  passing.    The  only 

duty  it  performs  is  to  conduct  the 

water  collected  by  the  upper  por- 
tions  of  the  lateral  to  the  main 
ditch  furnishing  the  outlet  for  it. 

^^^HHHZZI  Thus,  where  the  lateral  is  laid 
perpendicular  to  the  main  into 
which  it  empties,  the  last  fifty 

feet  of  it  is  wasted  so  far  as  con- 

, cerns  the  work  of  collecting  wa- 
ter from  the   soil.     The   Herring 
DOUBLE     |    Mryr/   SYSTEM  Bone  system     thus     wastes     just 

30 


i 


twice  as  much  of  its  laterals  as  does  the  Grid  Iron  system  draining 
the  same  area. 

Laterals  on  Sometimes  there  will  be  found  wide  sloughs  where  the 
rolling  land  sl°Pe  of  tne  side  hills  requires  that  the  laterals  should 
be  laid  more  or  less  perpendicular  to  the  bottom  of 
the,  slough.  This  condition  naturally  suggests  the  use  of  the  Herring 
Bone  method  of  grouping,  rather  than  the  Grid  Iron  method.  But 
the  saving  feature  of  the  Grid  Iron  system  may  be  had  by  using  a 
combination  of  the  two,  known  as  the  "Double  Main"  system.  Paral- 
lel mains  are  run  thru  the  slough  at  the  foot  of  the  two  slopes.  Thus 
the  laterals  from  each  hill  side  feed  into  their  own  main  on  the  Grid 
Iron  system.  The  complete  system  has  the  general  appearance  of 
the  Herring  Bone  system,  but  also  has  the  ditch  economy  of  the 
Grid  Iron. 

These  mains  should  be  placed  at,  or  just  above,  the  foot  of  the 
slopes.  Placed  here,  they  catch  all  the  seepage  flowing  along  the 
layer  of  tight  subsoil  in  the  hillside  before  it  has  had  a  chance  to  get 
out  into  the  more  level  bottom  between  the  two  slopes.  If  the  bot- 
tom is  underlaid  by  a  layer  of  porous  soil  charged  with  water  under 
pressure,  these  mains  at  the  foot  of  the  slopes  should  be  set  deep 
enough  to  penetrate  into  this  and  remove  this  water  before  it  has 
worked  its  way  out  under  the  bottom  land.  Care  should  also  be 
taken  to  make  them  large  enough  to  carry  away  this  added  supply 
of  water.  If  placing  them  at  the  foot  of  the  slopes  makes  them  too 
far  apart  to  drain  all  the  ground  lieing  in  between  them,  then  the 
necessary  number  of  laterals  should  be  placed  between  and  parallel 
to  them  to  drain  this  area.  These  laterals  will  be  joined  into  the 
mains  at  the  foot  of  the  slough. 

Often  in  rolling  land  the  bulk  of  the  tile  are  laid  in  only  wet 

draws  and  depressions  located  be- 
tween adjacent  high  spots,  hills 
Dr  ridges.  Here  the  contour  of  the 
ground — the  slopes  and  their  ar- 
rangement with  reference  to  each 
other — will  govern  the  location 
and  arrangement  of  laterals  to  a 
considerable  extent.  Such  an  ar- 
rangement is  known  as  the  "Nat- 
ural" system  because  the  arrange- 
ment is  determined  by  the  nature 
of  the  ground.  In  such  a  system 
there  is  not  much  choice  left  in 
planning  the  location  and  arrange- 
The" Natural"  system.  ments  of  the  laterals  and  their 

mains. 

Spouty  spots  The  cause  of  spouty  or  springy  spots  in  level  land 
in  level  land  already  nas  been  explained.  A  good  way  in  which 
to  correct  such  a  condition,  where  the  damaged 
area  is  not  too  large,  is  to  dig  a  well  down  into  the  center  of  the 
damaged  area  until  it  has  gone  some  little  distance  into  the  porous 

31 


layer  of  soil  lieing  between  the  two  tight  layers.  Fill  the  well  with 
broken  tile  or  rock  and  coarse  gravel  to  a  point  just  below  the  bot- 
tom of  the  plow  furrow.  Lay  a  line  of  tile  from  this  well  along  the 
surface  of  the  upper  impervious  layer  to  conduct  the  water  from  it  to 
a  main  or  outlet.  The  water  rises  more  easily  thru  this  weh  than 
thru  the  crawfish  and  other  holes, 

and  is  carried  away  by  the  tile  be-    o o o — 

fore  it  has  a  chance  to   saturate 

tVi^    rnnrA    r>r»roiic    la-ir^r    r>f    cur-far-^  Wells     and     connecting     ditch     for     draining 

the  more  porous  layer  ot  suriace      spouty  spots  in  ievei  land. 
soil. 

Sometimes  there  will  be  found  a  considerable  area  of  this  sort 
of  low  spouty  land.  If  careful  investigation  or  prospecting  shows  that 
the  condition  cannot  be  cured  by  a  deep  laid  ditch  at  the  foot  of  the 
slope  on  both  sides  of  it,  then  a  complete  system  of  ditches  or  laterals 
should  be  laid  thru  it.  These  should  be  laid  deep  enough  to  penetrate 
to  below  the  top  layer  of  impervious  earth  to  a  depth  of  a  foot  or  more. 
These  will  intercept  the  subsoil  water  which  is  rising  under  the  pres- 
sure and  carry  it  away  before  it  can  rise  into  the  surface  soil. 

Spouty  spots  The  cause  of  these  spouty  spots  on  hill  sides  has  been 
on  hill  sides  explained  in  previous  paragraphs.  The  way  to  cure 
them  is  to  go  back  up  the  side  of  the  hill  to  some 
point  high  enough  so  that  the  tile  laid  there  will  be  from  one  to  two 
feet  below  the  level  of  the  wet  spot.  Here  dig  a  ditch  along  the  face 
of  the  hill  instead  of  down  the  slope  of  it.  Have  it  reach  to  some  dist- 
ance to  either  side  of  the  spouty  spot  and  then  connect  it  into  the  main 

or  the  outlet.  Where  a  series  of 
these  spouty  spots  is  found,  or 
there  is  a  continuous  line  of 
springy  ground  along  the  face  of 
the  hill,  run  a  drain  the  full  length 
of  the  slope. 

of    tile    for    draining   spouty    spots  Jn    ^    way    ^    surplus    w&_ 

ter  from  the  soil  above  the  spouty 

place  is  caught  and  carried  away  by  the  tile.  It  does  not  have  to  work 
its  way  slowly  along  thru  the  subsoil  until  the  tight  layer  outcrops 
on  the  side  of  the  hill.  This  is  far  better  than  to  simply  run  a  tile 
from  the  outlet  or  main  up  into  the  spouty  spot  and  carry  the  water 
away  after  it  has  come  to  the  surface.  It  is  much  better  to  prevent  the 
ground  from  getting  wet  than  it  is  to  cure  it  after  it  gets  wet. 


32 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Distance  Between  Laterals 

The  distance  which  laterals  should  be  placed  apart  is  dependent 
upon  the  following  factors:  (1)  The  tightness  of  the  soil  above 
the  tile.  (2)  The  amount  of  the  rainfall ;  what  percentage  of  this 
annual  rainfall  comes  during  the  growing  season,  and  how  much  will 
fall  in  the  worst  storms,  or  within  a  few  days  at  a  time.  (3)  The 
levelness  of  the  surface,  and  so  what  percentage  of  the  rainfall  enters 
the  soil  or  runs  off  as  surface  drainage.  (4)  In  the  case  of  low  spots 
with  no  surface  outlet.  Here  it  depends  on  the  area  of  the  water  shed 
which  sheds  its  water  onto  this  area.  Since  there  is  no  surface  outlet 
for  such  an  area,  all  water  falling  or  running  onto  it  must  be  car- 
ried away  by  the  tile.  (5)  Whether  or  not  subsurface  water  under 
Pressure  must  be  carried  away  in  addition  to  the  rain  water  which 
ills  directly  on  the  surface  above  the  tile.  (6)  The  depth  to  which 
the  tile  are  laid. 

Tightness  of  Suppose  that  your  farm  is  level,  so  that  little  or  no 
the  soil  SUI~face  drainage  is  available.  The  rain  water  which 
falls  onto  it  can  escape  only  by  evaporation,  or  by 
descending  thru  the  soil.  Suppose  again  that  the  surface  soil  is  mel- 
low and  loose,  but  has  a  tight  subsoil  beneath  it.  This  tight  subsoil 
holds  the  water  imprisoned  in  the  mellow  surface  soil  above  it.  The 
surplus  water  can  descend  freely  thru  the  mellow  soil  until  it  strikes 
this  tight  layer  of  subsoil  beneath  it.  Also  the  water  can  move  along 
the  surface  of  this  tight  subsoil  freely.  When  the  tile  are  laid  in  this 
soil,  the  water  can  reach  it  freely  and  quickly.  The  water  from  a 
considerable  area  on  each  side  of  a  line  of  tile  is  able  to  work  its  way 
to  the  tile  in  the  safe  limit  of  time  in  which  it  must  be  removed  from 
the  soil  to  avoid  damage  being  done.  In  such  a  soil  the  laterals  may 
be  placed  a  considerable  distance  apart,  depending  further  upon  the 
other  conditions  which  have  been  mentioned.  Cases  are  some  times 
found  under  such  circumstances  where  laterals  will  work  well  placed 
as  much  as  150  or  even  200  feet  apart. 

But  it  is  different  where  this  layer  of  soil  above  the  lines  of  tile 
is  also  tight.  In  the  tight  clays,  the  water  moves  slowly  in  both  the 
down  ward  and  the  horizontal  direction.  In  the  tight  clay  soils  it  will 
take  as  much  as  three  or  four  times,  as  long,  or  even  longer,  for  water 
to  travel  a  certain  distance  as  it  GROUND 

would    take    to    travel    the    same 


distance  thru  a  mellow  sandy 
loam  soil.  Under  such  circum- 
stances laterals  should  be  only  one 

third    tO    One    fourth    as    far    apart  Showing    the    effect    which    distance    be- 

as  is  the  mellow,  sandy  loam  soils.  "*" 

33 


This  means  that  there  are  conditions  in  tight  clay  soils  where  the 
laterals  should  not  be  more  than  50  to  75  feet  apart. 

But  not  all  clay  soils  and  subsoils  are  this  tight. 

We  have  those  grades  variously  known  as  joint  clays  and  sandj 
clays.  The  water  moves  thru  them  more  freely  and  more  rapidly  than 
it  does  thru  the  tight  clays,  but  not  so  rapidly  as  thru  the  sandy  loams. 
In  such  open  clays  the  laterals  may  be  as  much  as  100  feet  apart  and 
still  the  tile  will  work  satisfactorily. 

It  is  seldom  that  only  one  kind  of  soil  or  subsoil  will  be 
found  on  one  quarter  section  farm.  It  more  often  happens  that  there 
are  three  or  four  different  kinds  or  conditions  found.  Each  of  these 
presents  its  own  problem,  and  demands  its  own  distance  apart  of  later- 
als, in  order  that  they  may  do  their  work  properly  and  still  the  system 
be  installed  as  economically  as  possible. 

Amount  of      In  regions  of  heavy  rainfall  there  is  more  surplus  water 
rainfall      to  be  removed  from  the  soil  than  there  is  in  regions  of 
less  rainfall.     This   demands   that  the  tile  be  placed 
closer  together,  all  other  things  being  equal. 

You  must  also  consider  what  seasons  of  the  year  the  bulk  of  this 
rain  falls  on  your  land.  In  some  regions  of  comparatively  light  rain- 
fall the  bulk  of  it  is  concentrated  into  a  rather  short  part  of  the  spring 
season.  In  such  cases  the  tax  on  the  soil  and  on  the  tile  is  as  great  dur- 
ing this  crucial  time  of  the  year  as  it  is  in  another  region  where  the 
total  annual  fall  is  greater,  but  where  its  fall  is  distributed  more  uni- 
formly thruout  the  year. 

The  possibility  of  very  heavy  storms  also  effects  this  problem. 
For  instance,  here  in  the  upper  Mississippi  valley  we  can  count  on  a 
very  wet  spell  at  least  once  during  the  spring  and  once  again  during 
the  summer.  You  should  lay  your  tile  so  as  to  protect  your  farm 
against  these  wettest  and  worst  times,  rather  than  against  the  average 
times  and  conditions. 

The  levelness  Where  the  surface  of  the  soil  has  very  much  of  a 
of  the  surface  sl°Pe>  a  considerable  portion  of  a  heavy  rain  will 
run  off  it  without  having  entered  the  soil.  The 
percentage  or  amount  of  this  runoff  will  also  depend  on  the  mellow- 
ness of  the  soil  and  the  ease  with  which  the  water  soaks  into  it.  Where 
the  surface  of  the  field  is  level,  little  or  none  of  even  the  heavy  rains 
runs  off.  This  throws  upon  the  tile,  the  entire  load  of  removing  the 
surplus.  So,  the  more  level  the  ground,  the  closer  together  the  tile 
should  be. 

In  comparatively  level  country  it  is  not  uncommon  to  find  low 
spots  without  a  surface  outlet.  These  are  shaped  much  like  a  broad 
level  dish.  On  all  sides  of  them  will  be  found  higher  ground  with  a 
certain  amount  of  slope  from  which  more  or1  less  surface  water  drains 
into  this  low  spot.  This  surface  water  must  be  admitted  direct  to 
the  tile  by  means  of  a  surface  inlet,  or  else  must  work  its  way  thru 
the  soil  to  the  tile. 

Surface  inlets  give  the  best  results  as  they  act  quickly.  But  they 
are  not  satisfactory  on  a  rented  farm  where  a  new  tenant  takes  pos- 

34 


session  every  year  or  two.     How  to  construct  these  is  explained  in 
a  later  chapter  of  this  book. 

Where  this  surface  water  is  left  to  work  its  way  to  the  tile  thru 
the  soil  it  increases  the  amount  of  water  which  must  flow  thru  the  tile 
laid  in  this  area.  This  demands  that  the  laterals  be  placed  closer  to- 
gether than  otherwise  would  be  necessary.  In  some  cases  of  this  kind 
it  is  found  necessary  to  place  them  only  fifty  feet  apart  when  one 
hundred  feet  would  be  satisfactory  if  it  were  not  for  the  surface  water. 

Cases  are  encountered  where  the  principal  amount  of  water 
reaching  the  tile  comes  from  the  subsoil  under  pressure  instead  of  from 
the  surface.  Sometimes  the  surface  soil  conditions  alone  are  such  that 
the  laterals  can  be  placed  100  feet  apart.  And  yet  the  amount  of 
subsurface  water  coming  up  under  pressure  is  so  great  that  they  must 
be  placed  as  close  together  as  50  feet  in  order  to  handle  all  the  water 
coming  from  these  two  sources. 

The  depth  It  is  a  combination  of  their  distance  apart  and  the 
of  the  tile  depth  of  the  tile  which  determines  the  depth  of  the 
permanent  water  table  at  its  highest  point  half  way 
between  two  adjacent  lines  of  tile.  When  two  adjacent  laterals 
are  4  feet  deep  and  100  feet  apart,  the  highest  point  of 
the  water  table  will  be  nearer  the  surface  than  when  they  are  4 
feet  deep  and  only  50  feet  apart.  General  experience  of  drainage  engin- 
eers seems  to  indicate  that  where  two  adjacent  laterals  are  100  feet 
apart  and  4  feet  deep  the  highest  point  of  the  water  table  will  be  prac- 
tically the  same  as  where  the  tile  are  three  and  a  half  feet  deep  and 
fifty  feet  apart. 

It  does  no  good  to  go  below  hard  pan  in  an  effort  to  lower  the 
water  table.  The  hard  pan  itself  becomes  the  table,  so  iMs  a  waste 
of  labor  to  go  deeper  for  that  purpose.  When  a  hard  pan  is  encount- 
ered near  the  surface,  the  depth  of  the  water  table  will  have  to  be 
regulated  by  distance  apart  more  than  by  depth  of  the  ditches, 


35 


CHAPTER  XII. 


How  Deep 
To  Lay  Tile 


Depth  o  f  For  our  ordinary  crops  this  water  table  should  be  at 
water  table  ^east  three  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  ground  at  a 
point  midway  between  any  two  adjacent  lines  of  tile. 
A  low  water  table  can  be  secured  much  cheaper  by  laying  the  laterals 
deep  than  by  laying  them  close  together.  Take  the  case  of  4  feet  deep 
and  100  feet  apart  as  compared  to  three  and  a  half  feet  deep  and  50 
feet  apart,  based  on  the  ruling  prices  of  1917  for  digging  and  for  five 
inch  tile.  At  these  prices,  five  inch  tile  laid  4  feet  deep  cost  $1.27  a  rod  ; 
tile  laid  three  and  a  half  feet  deep  cost  $1.15  a'  rod.  So  that  where  the 
ditches  are  placed  three  and  a  half  feet  deep  and  fifty  feet  apart,  the 
cost  of  getting  a  low  water  table  is  $2.30  as  compared  with  $1.27  for  the 
same  area  with  the  tile  laid  four  feet  deep  and  one  hundred  feet  apart. 
Where  they  are  three  and  one  half  feet  deep  and  seventy  five  feet  apart 
the  cost  is  $1.75  as  compared  to  the  $1.27  for  four  feet  deep  and  one 
hundred  feet  apart. 

Water  To  meet  the  demands  of  our  crops,  especially  of  corn,  there 
supply  no^  on^y  must  be  a  large  amount  of  capillary  water  in  each 
cubic  foot  of  the  soil,  but  there  must  also  be  many  cubic 
feet  of  soil  so  charged  with  water  for  the  plant  roots  to  penetrate  in 
their  search  for  food  and  water.  The  supply  of  this  capillary  water  is 
restored  each  time  it  rains.  A  deep  layer  of  soil  above  the  water  table 
will  retain  more  of  the  rain  fall  in  the  form  of  capillary  water  than  will 
a  shallow  layer  resulting  from  a  high  water  table.  And  the  tile  must 
be  deep  in  order  to  give  this  deep  storage  basin  for  capillary  water. 

During  a  dry  season  there  will  be  more  moisture  stored  in  the 
deep  soil  by  the  air  percolating  thru  it  than  in  a  shallower  soil.  As 
the  air  works  its  way  downward  thru  the  soil  it  reaches  a  cooler  tem- 
perature every  few  inches.  Finally  it  reaches  a  temperature  where  it 
cannot  hold  its  moisture,  but  must  give  some  of  it  up  and  deposit  it 
in  the  form  of  capillary  water  on  the  particles  of  soil  surrounding  it. 

As  it  goes  still  deeper,  it  gets  still  cooler  and  deposits  still  more 
of  its  moisture.  In  a  very  shallow  soil  it  may  not  reach  a  temper- 
ature low  enough  to  make  it  give  up  any  of  its  moisture.  Thus  it  is 
seen  that  where  the  water  table  is  deep  more  water  is  extracted  from 
the  soil  air  than  where  it  is  nearer  the  surface.  Deep  laid  tile  will 
thus  protect  a  crop  against  drought  better  than  will  shallow  laid  tile. 


Heat          Where    the 
supply      l°w'    tnere 


water  table  is 
s  a  great  deal 
more  heat  stored  up  than 
where  the  water  table  is  nearer  the  sur- 
face. Crops  growing  above  a  deep  wa- 

36 


How  shallow  tile  affect  the  growth  of 
corn. 


ter  table  actually  have  a  longer  effective  growing  season  than  have 
those  growing  above  a  shallow  water  table  in  the  same  location. 

In  Cerro  Gordo  County,  Iowa,  there  was  found  a  few  years  ago, 
a  field  in  which  tile  had  been  laid  some  ten  to  fifteen  years  before, 
but  had  been  laid  to  a  depth  of  only  two,  to  two  and  a  half  feet.  This 
year  in  question  was  a  cold,  wet  one.  A  careful  examination  was 
made  to  determine  their  effect  on  the  crop.  Where  the  tile  were  only 
two  feet  deep  they  had  no  appreciable  beneficial  effect  on  the  crop,  even 
where  the  corn  hills  were  immediately  over  the  tile.  Where  they  were 
two  and  a  half  feet  deep  the  corn  hills  immediately  over  the  tile  were 
a  little  higher  than  those  in  the  rest  of  the  field.  But  those  a  few  feet 
away  showed  no  benefit  from  the  tile.  With  the  exception  of  these 
comparatively  few  hills,  the  entire  field  was  a  very  poor  crop  of  corn ; 
it  was  small,  yellow,  sickly  and  scrawny  looking. 

Not  far  away  was  another  field  of  corn  on  land  where  the  tile 
had  been  laid  three  and  a  half  to  four  feet  deep,  but  had  not  been 
laid  as  many  years  as  had  this  more  shallow  system.  Here  the  corn 
crop  was  in  far  better  shape  than  in  the  other  field.  In  fact  it  was 
as  good  as  there  was  to  be  found  anywhere  in  the  county  that  year. 
The  deeper  tiled  field  was  warmer  than  was  the  shallow  tiled  field 
as  there  was  a  deeper  layer  of  soil  above  the  water  table  in  which 
the  heat  from  the  sun  was  stored. 

Frost  With  many  men  the  chief  argument  for  putting  tile  deeper 
level  tnan  three  feet,  which  has  any  force,  is  to  get  them  down  be- 
low frost  level.  Four  feet  will  not  do  this  in  the  latitude  of 
nothern  Iowa,  or  for  some  considerable  distance  south  of  here.  In 
severe  winters,  with  little  snow  on  the  ground,  frost  has  been  known 
to  go  as  deep  asi  six  feet  here.  So  protection  from  frost  is  not  a  valid 
argument  for  putting  the  tile  down  to  four  feet — but  getting  a  deep 
water  table  surely  is,  and  should  be  enough  argument  to  convince  any 
man. 

You  need  not  be  worried  about  your  tile  in  the  ground  being 
damaged  by  freezing,  if  the  tile  is  well  made.  Tile  which  is  made  of 
properly  mixed  shale,  and  which  has  been  burned  hard  so  it  will  not 
absorb  a  great  deal  of  water  into  its  walls,  will  not  be  damaged  by 
freezing  when  in  its  ditch  even  tho  it  may  be  damaged  some  by  freez- 
ing when  wet  and  exposed  to  the  air  either  by  lying  on  top  of  the 
ground  or  being  exposed  at  an  outlet  of  a  ditch.  Inspection  of  tile  laid 
twenty  years  ago,  shows  that  if  you  will  use  a  well  mixed,  hard  burned 
shale  tile  of  a  brownish  tint  or  color  you  need  not  ever  worry  about 
their  being  damaged  by  frost  when  it  reaches  them  in  an  extremely 
cold  winter. 

Muck  or  Muck  or  peat  soils  shrink  after  they  are  thoroly  tiled  out. 
peat  Soils  This  shrinkage  is  a  rather  slow  process,  it  requiring  two 
to  three  years  to  get  a  muck  or  peat  soil  well  settled.  The 
amount  of  this  shrinkage  depends  upon  the  depth  of  the  layer  of 
muck,  and  upon  the  percentage  of  partially  decomposed  vegetable 
matter  contained  in  it. 

37 


Tile  should  be  laid  in  this  sort  of  soil  deep  enough  so  that  after 
this  shrinkage  has  been  completed  they  will  still  be  as  deep  as  those 
laid  in  other  soil.  A  good  example  of  how  to  handle  this  sort  of  soil 
is  found  in  the  method  used  by  one  of  the  largest  land  owners  in 
northern  Iowa,  a  man  who  has  handled  successfully  a  number  of 
farms  in  which  peaty  soils  predominate. 

This  man  lays  his  tile  in  this  sort  of  soil  four  and  a  half  to  five 
feet  deep.  The  drains  are  laid  about  200  feet  apart,  as  at  this  distance 
they  draw  well  in  unsettled  muck  or  peat  soils.  He  pastures  this 
land  for  two  or  three  years.  During  this  time  this  soil  is  not  very 
good  for  growing  crops,  but  will  produce  very  fair  pasture.  The 
grazing  of  the  cattle  helps  to  pack  the  soil  and  so  hastens  its  shrinkage 
and  settling. 

By  the  time  the  muck  is  well  settled,  the  tile  are  not  drawing 
well.  So  now  he  puts  laterals  in  between  the  first  ones  so  they 
are  now  only  100  feet  apart.  He  lays  these  new  ditches  to  the  same 
depth  the  old  laterals  now  are ;  this  is  about  four  feet.  In  this  way 
he  saves  this  last  six  inches  to  one  foot  of  digging  on  this  last  half 
of  the  laterals.  The  land  is  now  ready  for  cropping,  and  the  tile  are 
all  laid  to  a  good  depth.  Had  the  first  tile  been  laid  only  four  feet 
deep,  none  of  the  ditches  would  be  more  than  three  to  three  and  a  half 
below  the  surface  of  the  field  and  the  land  would  not  be  well  drained 
with  the  ditches  this  depth  and  this  distance  apart. 

Water  under  Where  the  tight  layer  of  subsoil  is  underlaid  by  a 
Dressure  laver  °f  s°il  containing  water  under  pressure,  tile  laid 
in  the  top  layer  of  porous  soil  often  will  not  do  a  good 
job  of  draining  the  land.  In  such  cases  a  series  of  deep  laid  laterals 
is  about  the  only  solution  of  the  problem.  A  good  illustration  of  this 
is  found  in  the  case  of  a  tract  of  land  formerly  owned  by  the  late  Mr. 
Denison,  the  founder  of  the  Mason  City  Brick  &  Tile  Company. 

This  tract  of  land  laid  in  what  is  called  an  old  pre-glacial  stream 
bed.  It  was  a  broad,  low,  level  area  of  peaty  or  muck  soil  with  very 
inferior  surface  drainage.  Furthermore,  it  was  what  is  commonly 
known  as  craw  fish  land.  Underneath  the  layer  of  peaty  soil  was  a 
layer  of  very  tight  clay  soil  or  hard  pan.  This  layer  of  hard  pan  was 
underlaid  in  turn  by  a  layer  of  water  bearing  soil.  This  water  was 
under  pressure  resulting  from  the  weight  of  the  water  which  seeped 
into  it  on  the  slopes  of  the  higher  ground  where  it  was  not  covered  by 
this  layer  of  hard  pan  which  covered  it  underneath  the  peat.  The 
craw  fish  bored  their  holes  down  thru  this  layer  of  hard  pan  in  search 
of  the  permanent  supply  of  water.  These  craw  fish  holes  furnished 
sufficient  outlet  to  permit  the  water  to  rise  from  the  water  bearing 
layer  beneath  in  such  quantity  as  to  keep  this  place  a  veritable  swamp 
of  peat  or  muck. 

Some      common     every     day, 
"spade  and  shovel"  tilers  had  put 
a   system   of   tiles   into   this   tract. 
They  thought  it  was  not  necessary 
—       and  would  be  too  much  work  and 
too  costly,  to  go  into  or  thru  this 
*"*"*  "*"  *      layer  of  hard  pan.   So  they  simply 
38 


WflTEB  BEflRING  GRAVEL 


laid  the  tile  down  to  it,  thinking  the  water  all  came  from  the  rain  which 
fell  on  the  area  being  drained.  But  the  condition  was  not  relieved  by 
this  system  of  ditches. 

Mr.  Denison  secured  the  services  of  a  capable  and  experienced 
drainage  engineer  when  he  purchased  the  tract,  and  gave  him  instruc- 
tions to  do  a  thoro  job  of  tiling  it.  A  careful  inspection  of  the  tract, 
noticing  the  craw  fish  holes  and  digging  inspection  holes  down  thru 
the  hard  pan,  convinced  the  engineer  of  the  presence  of  water  under 
pressure.  He  found  that  the  hard  pan  was  underlaid  by  a  layer  of 
fine  sand  from  which  water  rose  rather  slowly  into  the  holes  he  dug 
into  it. 

He  decided  that  a  series  of  wells  sunk  into  this  layer  and  connect- 
ed above  the  hard  pan  by  the  lines  of  tile  already  laid  would  not  solve 
the  problem  because  the  sand  beneath  was  so  fine  the  water  would  not 
move  sideways  readily  enough,  but  would  continue  to  rise  thru  the 
craw  fish  holes  and  be  soaked  up  by  the  sponge-like  peaty  soil  above. 
So  all  the  tile  were  laid  deep  enough  to  carry  them  down  thru  the  hard 
pan  and  some  little  distance  into  the  water  bearing  layer  beneath  it. 
In  other  words,  the  tile  were  so  laid  that  they  drained  this  lower  water 
bearing  layer  just  as  an  ordinary  system  of  laterals  drains  the  soil  in 
which  they  are  laid. 

This  solved  the  problem  completely.  Ever  since  that  time  this 
tract  has  been  thoroly  drained.  There  has  been  no  more  trouble  from 
surplus  water.  The  land  can  be  worked  at  any  time  of  the  year,  even 
when  higher  but  less  well  drained  land  cannot  be  worked  at  all.  It 
is  true  that  it  was  necessary  to  put  the  tile  six  to  seven  feet  deep.  But 
by  doing  so  a  worthless  piece  of  bog  land  was  made  into  as  fine  land 
as  can  be  found  anywhere.  And  yet,  placing  the  tile  to  an  ordinary 
depth  did  not  do  this. 


39 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

What  Sizes 
Of  Tile  To  Use 

The  tile  used  for  both  laterals  and  main  ditches  should  be  large 
enough  to  carry  away  the  water  as  fast  as  it  is  delivered  to  the  ditches. 
The  great  bulk  of  the  soil  which  needs  tiling  is  some  form  of  clay  or 
clay  loam,  or  a  mixture  of  the  two.  There  is  no  danger  of  removing 
the  water  from  these  soils  too  rapidly.  There  is  much  danger  of  not 
removing  it  rapidly  enough.  So  the  ideal  to  work  toward,  in  planning 
a  system  of  ditches,  is  one  which  will  carry  away  the  water  just  as 
fast  as  it  gets  to  the  laterals. 

How  diameter  The  amount  of  water  which  will  flow  thru  a  given 
effects  capacity  ditch  within  a  given  time  depends,  among  other 
things,  upon  the  cross  sectional  area  of  the  tile.  The 
area  of  the  cross  section  varies  as  the  square  of  the  diameter — the  pro- 
duct obtained  by  multiplying  the  diameter  by  itself.  Let  us  illustrate 
this  fact  thus:  The  square  of  4  is  16;  the  square  of  5  is  25.  So  that 
a  five  inch  tile  has  a  capacity  1-9/16  times  as  great  as  has  a  four  inch 
tile. 

The  actual  working  capacity  of  a  line  of  tile  is  not  as  great  as  the 
capacity  of  a  single  tile,  or  an  iron  pipe,  of  the  same  diameter.  This 
reduction  in  capacity  is  caused  by  irregularities  in  joining  the  ends 

°^  two  a^Jacent  tile>  by  cro°ks  or  twists 
in  tne  ditch,  by  irregularities  in  the  grade 
or  slope — that  is,  by  high  spots  or  low  spots 
in  the  bottom  of  the  ditch.  These  irregu- 
larities tend  to  "stricture"  the  ditch,  or  to 
reduce  its  active  cross  sectional  area.  An 
irregularity  will  have  a  more  serious  ef- 

fect   °n   a   Sma11   ti.le»   than   °n   a   Jarger   one- 

A  half  inch  "jog"  in  making  a  joint  will  de- 
stroy a  larger  percentage  of  the  capacity  of  a  four  inch  tile  than  of  a 
five  inch. 

How  grades  The  amount  of  water  discharged  from  a  tile  ditch 
effect  capacity  w^  depend  directly  upon  the  speed  or  velocity  with 
which  a  stream  flows.  A  ten  inch  tile  flowing  full, 
with  a  velocity  of  two  miles  an  hour,  will  discharge  just  twice  as  much 
water  as  will  another  ten  inch  tile,  running  full,  at  a  speed  of  only  one 
mile  an  hour.  The  one  with  a  speed  of  two  miles  an  hour  will  furnish 
a  satisfactory  outlet  for  just  twice  as  many  acres  of  wet  land  as  will 
the  one  with  a  speed  of  only  one  mile  an  hour. 

In  any  case  the  grade  of  a  ditch  should  be  steep  enough  so  that 
the  current  of  water  flowing  thru  the  tile  will  be  strong  enough  to 
carry  with  it  all  the  silt  and  sediment  which  gets  into  the  ditch, 
rather  than  depositing  it.  The  capacity  of  running  water  to  carry 
solid  matter  varies  directly  as  the  sixth  power  of  the  velocity  of  the 
current.  This  means  that  a  stream  with  a  velocity  of  two  miles  an 

40 


hour  will  carry  pieces  of  earth  weighing  sixty  &MILJS  PER  HOUR 

four  times  as  much  (2x2x2x2x2x2=64)  as 
those  which  will  be  carried  by  a  stream  with 
a  velocity  of  only  one  mile  an  hour. 

Now  notice  how  that  rule  works :  Sup- 
pose you  were  laying  a  ditch  with  such  a 
grade  that  it  gives  a  stream  velocity  of  two 
miles  an  hour.  Then  you  came  to  a  place 


where  you  had  to  dig  deep  for  a  ways  to       Diagram  to  show  how  doubling 
maintain  that  grade,  or  else  go  to  a  grade  the  rate  of  flow  of  water  affects 
which   would  give  a  velocity  of  only  one  '"  capacity  to  carry  silt' 
mile  an  hour,  and  you  chose  the  latter  solution.     When  the  water 
flowing  thru  the  tile  came  to  that  more  gradual  grade,  its  velocity 
would  be  changed  from  two  miles  an  hour  to  one  mile  an  hour,  and 
its  ability  to  carry  sediment  would  be  reduced  to  only  one  sixty-fourth 
of  what  it  was  before;  it  would  have  to  drop  onto  the  bottom  of  the 
ditch  all  particles  of  soil  which  weighed  any  more  than  one  sixty- 
fourth  as  much  as  did  the  largest  pieces  which  it  was  able  to  carry  be- 
fore at  the  higher  grade.    In  a  short  time  this  would  badly  choke  the 
ditch  at  this  point. 

A  low  spot,  or  a  high  spot,  in  the  bottom  of  a  ditch  acts  the  same 
as  a  change  of  grade  and  slows  down  the  velocity  of  the  stream  of  wa- 
ter flowing  thru  that  portion  of  the  tile — except  when  the  tile  is  run- 
ning full  and  with  the  water  under  pressure  from  having  the  soil  above 
it  saturated  with  water.  So  that  when  the  stream  comes  to  one  of 
these  high  spots,  or  low  spots,  it  slows  down  and  deposits  the  larger 
particles  of  soil  which  it  may  be  carrying. 

Thus  you  will  see  the  importance  of  laying  all  ditches  with  as 
good  grade  as  possible,  and  of  keeping  this  grade  as  constant  or  uni- 
form as  you  can.  Tile  laid  to  a  good  uniform  steep  grade  will  keep 
free  of  silt  and  always  have  maximum  efficiency.  Tile  laid  with  a 
slight  fall,  or  with  cracks  and  humps  in  it,  will  be  apt  to  fill  up  in 
spots  and  reduce  the  carrying  capacity  and  the  draining  efficiency 
of  all  that  portion  of  the  ditch  lying  above  this  spot. 

Whenever  possible,  lateral  ditches  should  have  a  fall  of  at  least 
.3  foot  in  the  hundred,  or  practically  the  same  as  three  and  five  eighths 
inches  to  the  hundred  feet.  Of  course  there  are  often  cases  in  a  very 
level  country  where  this  much  fall  cannot  be  had  without  laying  the 
lower  ends  of  the  mains  and  laterals  very  deep.  Where  the  depth 
necessary  to  give  this  fall  is  so  great  as  to  make  the  cost  prohibitive- 
ly high,  you  will  have  to  lay  the  laterals  with  less  grade.  They  will 
work  at  less  grade,  but  they  will  not  work  as  fast  and  they  will  not 
drain  so  wide  an  area  when  the  ground  is  saturated  with  water,  un- 
less you  correspondingly  increase  their  size. 

Main  ditches  should  have  all  the  grade  that  is  available  so  as  to 
reduce  as  much  as  is  possible  the  size  of  the  tile  necessary  to  carry 
away  the  water  brought  to  the  main  by  the  laterals  feeding  into  it. 
Large  ditches  soon  run  into  a  lot  of  money.  So  it  pays  to  keep  them 
as  small  as  you  can  and  still  have  them  do  their  work  properly.  But 
when  necessary,  mains  can  be  run  perfectly  level  and  still  work ;  but  of 
course  their  size  will  have  to  be  increased  so  as  to  give  the  required 

41 


capacity.  In  a  wet  spell,  when  the  ground  is  saturated  with  water,  and 
when  the  laterals  and  the  submains  are  running  full,  the  water  in  this 
main  will  be  under  pressure  from  this  upper  water  and  so  will  have 
a  reasonably  satisfactory  velocity.  Its  velocity  will  be  greatest  when 
it  is  needed  most. 

Best  size  It  is  a  mistake  to  use  tile  smaller  than  five  inches  in 
for  laterals  diameter  for  laterals.  Some  men  may  say  that  it  is 
just  throwing  good  money  away  to  put  in  anything 
larger  than  three  inch  tile  for  laterals.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  throw- 
ing away  good  money  to  use  anything  smaller  than  five  inch  tile  for 
laterals. 

And  here  are  some  mighty  good  reasons  for  that  statement : 

The  cost  of  digging  the  ditch  for  the  three  inch  tile  is  just  the 
same  as  the  ditch  for  five  inch  tile.  In  fact  all  items  of  labor  are  the 
same,  except  the  cost  of  delivering  the  tile  from  the  town  to  the  ditch 
The  labor  cost  of  a  job  of  tiling  is  more  than  the  cost  of  the  tile.  Most 
manufacturers  charge  the  same  for  threes  and  fours  as  they  charge  for 
fives.  Those  who  do  sell  cheaper  make  only  a  slight  reduction  for 
the  threes  and  fours — nothing  to  compare  to  the  difference  in  water 
carrying  capacity  of  the  different  sizes.  So  but  very  little,  if  anything 
at  all,  is  gained  in  this  matter  of  cost  by  using  the  smaller  sizes. 

The  water  carrying  capacity  of  the  five  inch  tile  is  more  than  one 
and  a  half  times  as  great  as  that  of  a  four  inch  tile,  it  is  more  than 
two  and  two  thirds  times  that  of  a  three  inch  tile.  A  half  inch 
lap  in  a  joint,  or  a  half  inch  variation  from  accurate  grade,  will  not 
make  as  great  a  proportional  reduction  in  the  capacity*  of  the  five  inch 
tile  as  it  will  in  that  of  the  four  or  a  three  inch  one.  So  that  the  five 
inch  tile  will  always  work  much  nearer  its  maximum  possible  efficiency 
than  will  the  smaller  sizes  of  tile. 

Five  inch  tile  will  remove  the  accumulated  water  faster  than  will 
the  smaller  sizes,  and  so  will  do  a  better  job  and  will  drain  a  wider 
area  in  a  given  time.  After  a  system  has  been  in  for  some  time,  the 
soil  becomes  more  porous  and  open  so  that  the  soil  water  reaches  it 
more  rapidly.  In  a  very  wet  season,  when  there  is  a  great  deal  of  rain- 
fall within  a  few  days,  the  water  will  reach  the  tile  more  rapidly  than 
in  a  less  open  s-:;l.  In  a  very  tight  soil  the  smaller  sizes  of  tile  may 
handle  all  the  v/nter  which  reaches  them  for  the  first  two  or  three 
seasons.  But  in  time  they  will  be  drawing  from  such  a  wide  area  they 
are  not  able  to  handle  the  water  as  rapidly  as  it  reaches  them.  You 
should  lay  your  laterals  so  as  to  care  for  the  needs  of  the  future  as 
well  as  those  of  the  present.  This  means  you  should  use  five  inch  tile 
for  the  laterals. 

Best  sizes  The  proper  size  of  tile  to  use  for  main  and  submain 
for  mains  ditches  will  depend  on  the  following  factors:  (1)  The 
area  drained.  (2)  The  levelness  of  that  area.  (3)  The 
area  of  higher  ground  from  which  surface  water  runs  off  onto  this 
area,  and  what  percentage  of  the  rainfall  runs  off  as  surface  water. 
(4)  The  texture  of  the  soil  which  is  being  drained.  (5)  To  what 
extent  surface  intakes  are  to  be  used  to  admit  surface  water  direct 

42 


to  the  tile.  (6)  The  grade  on  which  mains  and  submains  are  to  be 
laid.  (7)  What  amount  of  rainfall  is  to  be  drained  away  in  twenty- 
four  hours. 

These  factors  are  all  so  intricately  related  that  you  should  con- 
sult an  experienced  and  competent  drainage  engineer  to  help  you 
decide  what  sizes  of  tile  to  use  for  these  mains  and  submains,  as 
well  as  their  location  and  the  location  of  the  laterals.  Only  a  man 
who  is  thoroly  informed  on  the  scientific  principles  involved  in  farm 
drainage  is  capable  of  deciding  these  problems  in  such  a  way  as  to 
give  you  a  thoroly  efficient  system  of  tile. 

When  tile  are  laid  four  feet  deep,  and  have  been  in  long  enough 
for  the  soil  to  be  well  opened  up,  the  mains  need  to  remove  rain- 
fall only  at  the  rate  of  one  quarter  inch  of  rainfall  per  twenty-four 
hours.  Under  such  soil  conditions  any  water  standing  on  top  of  the 
ground,  as  a  result  of  its  falling  faster  than  it  can  be  soaked  up  or 
run  off,  will  soak  into  the  ground  within  a  few  hours  so  that  the 
surface  will  be  in  condition  to  be  plowed  or  cultivated  within  six 
to  twenty-four  hours  after  a  heavy  rain.  One  inch  of  rainfall  will 
saturate  about  four  to  six  inches  of  normally  moist  soil  which  is 
good  and  porous.  So  it  would  require  eight  to  twelve  inches  of 
rainfall,  falling  just  as  fast  as  the  ground  will  soak  it  up,  to  saturate 
the  four  feet  of  ground  lying  above  the  laterals.  This  is  a  condi- 
tion which  never  occurs  in  this  country.  So  this  rate  of  removing 
the  surplus  water  from  the  soil  is  fast  enough  to  meet  all  the  con- 
ditions which  are  imposed  on  our  soils,  and  still  prevent  damage  to 
crops. 

The  various  sizes  of  tile  shown  in  the  accompanying  table  will 
carry  away  the  water  delivered  to  them  from  the  soil  by  the  laterals 
at  this  rate  for  the  number  of  acres  shown,  providing  the  main  of 
this  size  is  not  over  1,000  feet  long.  If  all  the  surface  water  is  to 
be  removed  also,  instead  of  letting  it  run  over  the  land,  the  title 
will  have  to  be  considerably  larger. 


TABLE   SHOWING  AREAS   DRAINED    BY  T|LE    MAINS    LAID   UPON 
THE    GRADES    INDICATED 

Computed   by  formula   recommended   by  C.   G.    Elliott,  formerly  Chief   Drainage 
Investigations,    U.   S.    Dept.   of   Agriculture 


Grade  per  100  feet  in   Decimals  of  a  foot  with  approximate  equivalents  In   Inches. 


Diameter  of 
Tile  In  Inches 

5 

0.04 
iin. 

0.05 
fin. 

0.08 
lin. 

0.10 
lAin. 

0.12 
liin. 

0.16 
2  in. 

020 
2fin. 

0.25 
3  in. 

0.30| 
3f  in. 

0.40 
4f  in. 

0.50 
6  in. 

0.75 
9  in. 

Acres  of  Land  Drained 

17.3 
27.3 
39.9 
55.7 
74.7 
96.9 
(152.2 

17.7 
28.0 
41.1 
57.3 
76.5 
99.5 
156.1 

19.1 
29.9 
44.1 
61.4 
82.2 
106.7 
167.7 

19.8 
31.2 
45.9 
64.0 
85.6 
111.2 
174.8 

20.6 
32.5 
47.7 
66.5 
89.1 
115.6 
181.7 

22.1 
34.8 
51.1 
71.2 
95.3 
123.9 
194.6 

23.5 
37.0 
54.3 
75.6 
101.4 
131.6 
206.8 

25.1 
39.6 
58.0 
80.9 
108.4 
140.6 
221.1 

26.7 
42.0 
61.6 
85.8 
114.9 
149.3 
234.5 

29.5 
46.4 
68.2 
95.0 
127.0 
165.2 
259.2 

32.0 
50.5 
74.0 
103.3 
138.1 
179.2 
281.8 

37.7 
59.4 
87.1 
121.4 
162.6 
211.1 
331.8 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

12      

43 


Let  us  see  now,  how  this  table  works,  by  using  some  examples 
as  follows : 

Suppose  that  you  have  a  farm  of  160  acres,  all  of  which  is  so 
level  that  it  requires  tile  laid  every  hundred  feet.  Suppose  also  that 
this  farm  lies  high  enough  so  that  surface  water  does  not  drain 
down  onto  it  from  any  land  higher  up.  Suppose  also  that  your 
main  runs  thru  such  a  level  section  that  there  is  a  natural  fall  of 
only  \l/2  inch  to  the  hundred  feet.  By  consulting  this  table  we  find 
that  a  ten  inch  main  laid  at  this  grade  will  drain  only  115.6  acres 
at  the  rate  of  one  fourth  inch  rainfall  in  twenty-four  hours;  while  a 
twelve  inch  tile  will  drain  181.7  acres  under  the  same  conditions. 
Manufacturers  do  not  build  eleven  inch  tile,  so  you  should  use  the 
twelve  inch.  The  slight  added  expense  involved  will  be  far  more 
than  compensated  for  by  the  greater  efficiency  of  your  system  than  if 
you  had  used  only  the  ten  inch  main. 

Suppose  a  second  time  that  your  farm  of  160  acres  had  only 
forty  acres  of  wet  ground  with  the  same  fall  for  an  outlet.  Suppose 
that  this  forty  acres  had  this  same  slight  fall  to  its  surface,  and  that 
the  other  120  acres  surrounded  it  and  did  not  need  drainage  because 
a  goodly  percentage  of  the  rainfall  ran  off  as  surface  water  onto  this 
wet  forty.  In  figuring  what  size  main  to  use,  you  would  have 
to  count  in  a  portion  of  this  higher  land.  You  would  have  to  use 
a  main  large  enough  for  anywhere  from  eighty  to  120  acres,  de- 
pending on  the  percentage  of  the  rainfall  on  the  high  land  which 
reached  the  low  land  as  surface  runoff.  You  see,  with  this  very 
gradual  slope  to  your  low  land,  not  all  the  water  which  reached  it 
as  surface  run  off  from  the  higher  land  would  leave  it  as  surface 
run  off.  Some  of  it  would  soak  into  the  soil  of  this  lowland  and 
reach  its  tile  as  the  only  chance  of  escape.  This  would  make  the 
demands  placed  on  the  main  greater  than  that  originating  solely  from 
the  rain  which  fell  onto  the  low  land. 

Suppose  a  third  time,  that  this  wet  forty  acres  was  a  pond, 
without  outlet.  All  the  rain  which  falls  onto  it  would  have  to  escape 
thru  the  tile.  All  the  run  off  from  the  higher  land  would  also  have 
to  escape  thru  these  tile.  If  these  slopes  of  the  higher  land  were 
very  steep,  much  more  of  the  rainfall  would  reach  the  tile  from  the 
entire  160  acres  than  would  if  the  land  were  all  level,  because  only 
a  small  portion  of  it  would  be  taken  up  by  the  high  land  as  capillary 
water.  This  would  make  the  demands  on  the  tile  much  greater  than 
if  all  the  land  were  level  and  needed  tiling.  In  extreme  cases  of 
this  nature  you  might  have  to  use  a  tile  large  enough  to  care  for 
as  much  as  240  or  even  300  acres  of  normally  level  land  such  as  is 
contemplated  by  this  table.  It  matters  not  whether  this  accumulation 
of  surface  water  soaks  its  way  thru  the  soil  into  the  tile,  or  is  ad- 
mitted direct  by  means  of  surface  intakes,  the  tile  will  have  to  be 
this  size  to  remove  it  fast  enough  to  prevent  the  crops  growing  on 
this  low  land  from  being  damaged  by  water  standing  in  or  on  the 
surface  of  the  soil. 


44 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Some  Very 
Important  Points 

When  tiling  When  a  job  of  tiling  is  done  right,  there  is  no  in- 
do  a  good  job  vestment  which  can  be  made  on  any  farm  which 
will  pay  larger  returns.  If  not  done  right,  the  in- 
vestment will  not  repay  as  large  returns  as  it  should.  The  difference 
between  a  good  job  of  tiling  and  a  poor  one  is  so  great  that  you  can- 
not afford  to  take  chances  that  it  will  not  be  done  right. 

To  insure  that  it  is  done  right,  you  should  employ  an  experienced 
and  capable  drainage  engineer.  The  fee  which  must  be  paid  for  his 
services  is  so  small  when  you  consider  the  importance  to  you  of  hav- 
ing the  job  done  right  that  you  should  not  haggle  for  a  moment  over 
the  size  of  that  fee.  The  important  thing  to  you  is,  not  the  amount 
he  is  going  to  charge  you,  but  whether  or  not  he  knows  his  business 
and  whether  or  not  he  attends  to  it. 

Have  him  assist  you  in  deciding  where  to  locate  the  ditches.  Have 
him  make  a  survey  of  the  entire  water  shed  which  drains  surface  water 
onto  the  land  to  be  tiled.  Have  him  make  a  survey  of  each  ditch, 
establishing  grades  and  sizes  of  tile  for  each.  Have  him  make  a  map 
of  the  entire  system,  including  the  length  of  ditch  for  each  size  of  tile 
and  a  profile  showing  the  grades  or  slopes  for  each  ditch.  Have  this 
map  "tied  into"  some  permanent  and  official  monument  such  as  a 
section  or  township  corner.  Keep  that  map  carefully  for  future  re- 
ference in  case  it  ever  becomes  necessary  to  examine  any  part  of  any 
ditch,  or  you  ever  want  to  add  to  the  system  of  ditches.  Have  your 
engineer  inspect  all  tile  with  an  instrument  at  frequent  intervals  along 
the  ditch  before  they  are  covered  more  than  mere  blinding. 

Never  let  a  ditcher  lay  a  single  rod  of  tile  "by  water  grade"  or  by 
guess.  No  tile  ditch  ever  laid,  "sucks  like  a  chimney."  A  tile  ditch 
will  not  work  like  a  siphon,  no  matter  how  hard  some  "Round  Head" 
may  argue  that  it  will.  Make  him  do  his  work  according  to  the  in- 
structions of  your  engineer.  Keep  close  watch  of  him  to  see  that  he 
does  it  that  way.  Do  not  trust  any  digger.  While  a  digger  may  be 
perfectly  honest,  yet  it  is  your  land  instead  of  his  in  which  he  is  doing 
the  work. 

Put  in  a  system  of  tile  which  will  make  your  fields  dry  and  pro- 
ductive under  the  worst  weather  conditions  which  exist  in  your  sec- 
tion of  the  country.  Do  not  tile  to 
meet  average  conditions.  It  is  the 
worst  years,  not  the  average  ones, 
that  wet  fields  make  the  biggest 

Vi/-»1^c    in    -irrmr  Honlr  arrnnnt        Tf  vnn  The  effect  when  the  di99er  does  not  fol- 

nOieS   in   yO1  .I   yo  low    the    engineer>s    grades  properly.      The 

tile  to  meet  the  worst  conditions  in      tile  below  the  dotted,  line  fin  up  with  silt 

f     ,.  and  reduce  the  draining  abihty  or  capacity 

your   section   ot   the   country,   your      Of  ail  the  ditch  above  it. 

45 


system  of  tile  will  pay  for  itself  much  quicker  than  if  you  had  tiled 
to  meet  only  average  conditions.  And  it  will  pay  you  an  additional 
profit  much  quicker,  and  continue  to  pay  these  larger  profits  a  longer 
time. 

You  take  out  life  and  fire  insurance  to  meet  the  worst  crisis  pos- 
sible, not  to  meet  the  average  conditions.  The  same  principle  should 
be  followed  in  tiling  your  farm.  You  should  tile  to  meet  worst  con- 
ditions, not  average  ones. 

Plan        your     Sometimes  a  man  does  not  have  enough  money 

system  carefully     available  to  cover  the  cost  of  a  complete  system 

of  tiling.    At  the  least,  the  average  man  is  unable 

to  tell  how  much  a  good  job  is  going  to  cost  him.  Naturally,  he  wants 
to  have  a  fairly  close  estimate  on  this  before  he  makes  any  definite 
move.  In  such  a  case,  get  your  drainage  engineer  to  come  out  and 
go  over  the  proposition  with  you.  Tell  him  that  you  want  to  know 
approximately  how  much  it  is  going  to  cost  to  put  in  every  rod  of  tile 
which  your  farm  needs.  It  will  not  take  him  very  long  to  make  you 
a  very  close  estimate. 

If  you  have  the  money,  do  the  entire  job.  If  you  do  not  have 
quite  enough,  your  banker  will  be  more  than  glad  to  loan  it  to  you. 
Bankers  are  so  thoroly  convinced  of  the  value  of  tiling  wet  land  that 
some  of  them  are  even  lending  money  for  that  purpose  with  only 
a  second  mortgage,  or  even  simply  a  personal  note,  as  security.  Re- 
member that  the  increased  yields  the  first  year  will  far  more  than  pay 
interest  on  the  first  cost.  There  are  many  instances  in  every  county 
where  this  first  year's  increased  production  has  repaid  the  entire  cost 
of  tiling. 

If  you  do  not  have  enough  money,  and  do  not  want  to  borrow, 
there  arises  the  question  of  which  of  two  things  to  do.  Shall  you 
spread  your  available  cash  over*  the  entire  farm,  doing  only  as  good  a 
job  as  you  can  with  the  money?  Or  shall  you  use  it  all  in  doing  a 
thoro  job  over  as  many  acres  as  the  money  will  cover? 

Here  is  the  thing  to  do  in  a  case  like  that.  Pick  out  the  very 
wettest  part  of  the  farm,  the  part  which  is  now  producing  you  the 
least.  Spend  your  available  money  in  tiling  that  part  of  it  thoroly. 
Do  not  skimp  any  part  of  it  in  an  attempt  to  make  your  money  cover 
a  large  acreage.  That  is  a  waste  of  money.  Forty  acres  of  wet  land 
thoroly  tiled  will  give  you  a  larger  return  on  its  cost  than  you  would 
get  if  you  had  spent  the  same  amount  of  money  in  doing  only  a  fairly 
good  job  on  sixty  or  eighty  acres  of  the  same  kind  of  land.  Then  the 
next  year,  take  the  extra  money  you  have  earned  from  this  tract  you 
have  tiled  this  year  and  spend  it  tiling  just  as  much  land  as  it  will 
do  a  good  job  on.  Continue  each  year,  using  the  extra  money  you 
earn  from  the  tiled  land,  with  which  to  do  a  thoro  job  on  more  land. 
In  a  very  short  time  you  will  have  the  entire  place  tiled.  The  original 
outlay  for  tiling  will  be  only  what  you  spent  for  the  first  job. 

Of  course,  the  larger  the  area  on  which  you  can  do  a  good  job 
the  first  year,  the  quicker  you  will  get  it  all  tiled  and  the  quicker 
the  original  cost  will  be  paid  back  to  you  in  the  form  of  increased 
profits  from  the  farm.  If  you  have  enough  money  with  which  to  tile 
an  eighty  out  of  a  quarter  section  the  first  year,  you  will  make  more 

46 


money  in  the  next  five  or  ten  years  if  you  will  start  out  with  the 
eighty  than  you  would  if  you  had  started  out  with  only  forty  acres, 
planning  to  make  a  forty  pay  for  tiling  the  rest  of  the  farm. 

Connecting  One  ditch  should  not  enter  another  perpendicularly. 
ditches  Connections  should  always  be  made  at  an  angle  of 

about  forty-five  degrees,  or  one  half  of  the  perpendicu- 
lar. The  stream  of  water  flowing  into  a  main  from  a  lateral  naturally 
tends  to  stop  or  interfere  with  the  stream  flowing  thru  the  main.  If 
the  lateral  enters  perpendicularly,  it  will  interfere  with  the  flow  of  the 
water  thru  the  main  a  great  deal  more  than  it  would  if  it  had  entered 
at  an  angle  of  forty-five  degrees.  This  interference  is  just  the  same 
as  reducing  the  size  of  the  main  just  that  much.  A  main  with  its  later- 
als and  submains  entering  it  perpendicu- 
larly will  not  drain  properly  as  many 
acres  as  it  would  if  they  had  entered 
at  an  angle  of  forty-five  degrees. 

If  your  laterals  are  laid  out  on  the 
grid  iron  principle,  and  are  perpendicu- 
lar to  the  main,  the  last  fifteen  to  twenty 


<O 


The  proper  way  to  connect  one        five  feet  of  the  laterals  should  be  bent 
ditch  to  another.  into  3.  curve  so  that  they  finally  enter 

the  main  on  a  slant.    This  bend  should  not  be  made  in  the  form  of  an 
abrupt  angle,  but  should  be  made  in  the  form  of  a  part  of  a  circle. 

The  lateral  ditch  should  be  connected  into  the  middle  of  the  main 
tile.  It  should  not  be  made  into  the  bottom  of  the  main,  or  into  the 
top  of  it. 

The  main  ditch  should  be  deeper  than  the  laterals.  Enough  deeper 
so  that  the  curved  portion  of  the  lateral  will  have  more  fall  than  the 
rest  of  it.  This  increased  fall  will  tend  to  increase  the  velocity  of  the 
stream  from  the  lateral  to  compensate  for  the  tendency  of  this  curve 
to  slow  it  down,  or  may  even  increase  it  slightly.  This  will  throw 
the  stream  from  the  lateral  into  the  main  ditch  with  sufficient  force 
to  prevent  the  deposit  of  silt  where  the  lateral  enters  the  main. 

Use  regular,  manufactured  union  tiles.  These  can  be  had  in  al- 
most any  combination  of  sizes  wanted,  and  are  made  to  give  the  con- 
nection at  proper  angle.  The  connection  is  miule  in  the  process  of 
manufacturing  the  tile,  so  that  it  has  been  burned  after  the  union  is 
made.  This  will  give  you  a  tight  joint  which  will  prevent  dirt  from  en- 
tering the  tile  as  will  happen  with  the  aver- 
age home  made  union.  li  you  make  a  union 
in  the  field, see  that  it  is  made  good  and  tight. 
It  can  be  covered  with  pieces  of  broken  tile 
so  as  to  protect  it  fairly  well  from  the  en- 
trance of  dirt.  But  it  would  be  much  better 
to  seal  the  joint  with  concrete  so  as  to  make 
sure  there  is  no  hole  thru  which  dirt  or  silt 
can  enter  the  tile. 

Making     Never  change  the  direction  of  a 
a  turn        ditch  with  a  sharp  or  direct  angle. 
Always  make  the  turn  in  the  shape 

sealed  Joint™™   of  a  part  of  a  circle.    This  circle  should  have 
47 


a  radius  of  at  least  fifty  feet,  one 
hundred  is  better.  A  sharp  turn  or 
angle  will  seriously  reduce  the 
amount  of  water  which  will  flow 
thru  the  drain  in  a  given  time.  This 
means,  furthermore,  that  it  will  cor- 
respondingly reduce  the  number  of 
acres  which  will  be  drained  properly 
by  the  ditch. 

If  the  ends  of  the  tile  on  the  out- 
side of  the  turn  are  more  than  one 
eighth  to  one  quarter  of  an  inch 
apart,  this  opening  should  be  covered 
by  placing  over  it  a  piece  of  tile  the 
same  diameter.  This  will  help  keep 
dirt  from  getting  in  thru  this  too 
large  opening  at  the  joint. 


Making 
a  joint 


The    proper    way    to    make    a    turn. 


The  ends  of  the  tile  should 
meet  each  other  squarely. 
If  they  are  a  little  irregu- 
lar, so  they  do  not  meet  squarely 
thru  the  full  circle,  then  they  should 
be  closest  at  the  top  so  as  to  keep  out 
dirt.  Most  of  the  dirt  which  gets  into  the  tile  comes  in  thru  the  top 
or  the  sides  of  the  joint ;  very  little,  if  any  at  all,  comes  in  thru  the 
bottom  portion  of  the  joint,  except  quicksand. 

All  the  water  which  gets  into  a  line  of  tile,  enters  it  thru  the 
joints  between  the  tiles.  It  does  not  seep  thru  the  walls  of  the  in- 
dividual tiles.  Some  men  will  argue  that  you  should  use  a  soft 
tile  so  that  the  water  can  get  into  the  ditch.  This  is  all  bosh.  All 
the  water  which  would  work  its  way  thru  the  walls  of  even  a  very 
soft  burned  tile  in  a  year  will  not  be  sufficient  to  carry  off  the  sur- 
plus from  even  one  fair  sized  rain.  If  you  do  not  believe  it,  seal  up 
the  end  of  a  tile  water  tight;  stand  it  on  end  and  fill  it  with  water, 
cover  the  top  and  let  it  stand  until  all  the  water  has  soaked  out  of 
the  tile.  If  you  had  to  go  without  eating  while  it  was  soaking  its 
way  thru  the  tile,  you  would  starve  to  death. 

If  you  will  fit  the  ends  of  the  tile  up  to  each  other  as  close  as 
possible*  the  space  between  the  ends  of  the  tile  will  be  large  enough 
to  let  the  water  into  the  ditch  as  fast  as  it  works  its  way  thru  the 
soil.    So  snuggle  them  up  as  close  as  you  can,  so  as  to 
keep  out  the  dirt. 

Shaping  the  The  bottom  of  a  ditch  should  be  smooth, 
bottom  anc^  with  a  uniform  grade.    It  should  be 

rounded  to  the  same  size  or  degree  ^of 
curve  as  is  the  tile  to  be  laid  in  it.  This  gives  the  tile 
a  wide  bearing  surface  on  its  bottom.  This  wide  bear- 
ing surface  on  the  bottom  of  the  tile  is  especially  im- 
portant for  large  tiles  which  are  laid  to  any  consider- 
able depth.  The  weight  of  the  dirt  which  is  piled  on 
top  of  these  large  tiles  in  filling  the  ditches  throws  a 
48 


Make  the  bot- 
tom of  the  ditch 
fit  the  curve  of 
the  tile. 


very  considerable  load  onto  them.     If  the  GR^HWG 

tile  rests  on  a  flat  ditch  bottom,  it  will  be  GT?OUKD 

crushed  by  a  considerably  less  load  of  this 

kind  than  if  it  is  laid  on  a  bottom  which  has 

a  curve  of  the  same  radius  so  the  tile  will 

fit  into  the  bottom  of  the  ditch  as  the  axle 

of  a  wagon  fits  into  the  wheel  hub. 

Surface       These  inlets  are  merely  branch- 
intakes        es  which  connect  the  tile  with 
some  spot  on  the  surface  where 

water  collects  and  stands,  without  running  A  surface  intake. 

away   as   surface   flow.     They   admit   this 

surface  water  direct  into  the  tile  instead  of  forcing  it  to  work 
its  way  thru  the  soil  to  reach  the  tile.  Some  people  place  them  in 
small  ponds,  or  "impounded  areas,"  in  the  fields.  Others  place  them 
only  in  roadside  ditches  where  for  some  reason  or  other  all  the  sur- 
face water  does  not  run  off  with  the  surface  drainage. 

These  inlets  should  be  made  of  sewer  pipe  with  cemented  joints, 
after  the  manner  shown  in  the  drawing.  They  should  be  covered  with 
a  metal  grating  to  keep  out  weeds  and  trash.  The  best  kind  is  the 
conical  or  "bee-hive"  shaped  grating.  A  post  should  be  set  firmly  in 
the  ground  beside  the  inlet  to  prevent  machinery  from  being  driven 
over  it  and  damaging  it. 

Simply  filling  a  short  stretch  of  the  ditch  up  to  the  plow  line 
with  broken  tile,  crushed  stone  or  gravel,  does  not  make  a  good  inlet. 
It  never  works  satisfactorily.  It  either  fills  up  or  washes  out.  Use 
a  real  inlet,  or  none  at  all. 

Silt  Where  tile  are  laid  in  a  sandy  subsoil,  in  quick  sand  or  a  fine 
basins  si^7  l°am>  considerable  quantities  of  sand  and  silt  will  get  into 
the  tile.  Silt  basins  should  be  placed  at  the  lower  ends  of  such 
stretches  of  the  ditch  to  keep  this  silt  from  going  on  into  the  lower 
stretches  of  the  ditch  or  the  mains  which  lie  below.  Wherever  the 
grade  of  a  main  ditch  is  lowered  materially  so  that  the  velocity  of  the 
tile  water  is  slowed  down,  one  of  these  basins  should  be  placed  to  catch 
the  silt  which  is  dropped  and  keep  it  out  of  the  ditch  where  it  would 
be  deposited  if  the  basin  is  not  provided.  These  silt  basins  also  serve 
as  inspection  manholes  for  making  occasional  investigations  of  how 
ditches  are  working. 

These  silt  basins  are  constructed  on  the  principle  of  shallow  wells 
which  extend  down  a  few 
feet  below  the  bottom  of 
the  tile.  The  cross  sec- 
tional area  of  the  basin 
should  be  equal  to  from 
five  to  ten  times  the  cross 
sectional  area  of  the  tile 
which  empties  into  it.  The 
flow  of  the  water  from  the 
tile  into  this  well  or  basin 
checks  its  velocity  and 
causes  it  to  deposit  its  silt 


COV  ER 

^ 

1 

1 

1 

49 


A   good   design  of  silt  basin. 


in  the  bottom  of  the  basin.  The  water  flowing  out  of  the  far  side  of 
the  basin  has  been  freed  of  the  bulk  of  its  silt  so  that  the  stretch  of 
tile  lying  below  is  protected  from  any  deposit  of  silt  which  would 
have  occurred  as  a  result  of  lowering  the  grade  of  the  ditch  at  this 
point.  After  each  heavy  rainy  spell,  these  basins  should  be  inspected. 
If  the  silt  has  filled  up  to  near  the  bottom  of  the  tile  it  should  be 
cleaned  out.  These  basins  should  be  walled  up  to  prevent  their  dirt 
walls  from  caving  in.  An  excellent  way  to  do  is  to  dig  them  circular 
and  then  wall  them  up  with  hard  burned  brick  or  silo  blocks,  which  can 
be  laid  up  quickly  and  easily.  If  dug  square,  they  can  be  walled  up 
with  road  plank.  The  trouble  with  this  is  that  wood  will  decay  in  a 
few  years  from  the  alternate  wetting  and  drying.  If  planks  are  used, 
they  should  first  be  painted  with  a  coat  of  creosote  or  other  water 
proofing  paint  to  prolong  their  life. 

Protect  the  The  outlet  of  all  ditches  should  be  protected  against 
outlets  washing  of  the  banks  of  the  stream  or  open  ditch  into 

which  they  empty,  and  against  damage  by  the  trampling 
of  live  stock  which  may  come  to  the  mouth  of  the  ditch  to  drink.  A 
bulkhead  should  be  built  of  stone  or  concrete.  It  is  also  well  to 
build  an  "apron"  under  the  mouth  of  the  tile  for  the  water  to  fall  onto, 
and  so  prevent  the  flow  of  water  from  the  tile  from  undermining  the 
mouth  of  the  ditch. 

It  is  best  to  build  these  bulk  heads  as  soon  as  the  first  few  rods  of 
ditch  have  been  dug,  so  that  the  first  tile  can  be  laid  tightly  into  it  as 
the  bulkhead  is  being  built,  and  to  protect  the  mouth  of  the  ditch  from 
being  washed  out  while  the  system  of  tile  is  being  laid.  The  first  ten 
to  fifteen  feet  of  the  ditch  should  be  made  of  vitrified  sewer  pipe,  or 
of  iron  pipe,  because  ordinary  drain  tile  will  disintegrate  in  a  few 
years  when  subjected  to  the  combined  action  of  air  and  of  freezing. 
This  injury  occurs  only  in  the  first  few  feet  of  the  open  end  of  the 
ditch,  the  rest  of  the  ditch  being  undamaged  by  freezing  if  well  burned 
tile  are  used. 

The  mouth  of  the  tile  should  also  be  protected  from  the  entrance 
of  dogs  and  field  animals.  A  very  good  protection  of  this  sort  consists 
of  a  hinged  cover  of  light  iron  bars,  or  fine  meshed  woven  wire  fenc- 
ing made  of  heavy  galvanized  iron  wire.  If  this  is  hinged  from  the  top, 
it  will  give  under  the  force  of  the  stream  of  water  and  so  will  not 
interfere  with  its  flow.  At  the  same  time,  it  will  swing  back  tightly 
over  the  mouth  of  the  tile  when  no  water  is  flowing  thru.  The  open 
spaces  in  the  fencing,  or  iron  bars,  permit  one  to  look  up  into  the 
open  mouth  of  the  tile  to  inspect  it.  By  using  a  mirror,  a  beam  of 
light  can  be  thrown  back  into  the  tile  so  one  can  see  for  several 
hundred  feet  into  a  straight  ditch  and  locate  any  obstruction  which 
might  have  gotten  into  it. 


50 


CHAPTER  XV. 

What  Tile  To  Use 

Use  only  the  best  to  be  had,  even  tho  you  may  have  to  pay  a 
little  more  for  it  than  you  would  have  to  pay  for  some  other  kind.  It 
is  utter  folly  to  use  an  inferior  grade  of  tile  just  because  you  can  get 
it  for  a  dollar  or  so  less  a  thousand  feet  than  you  have  to  pay  for  the 
best  grade.  Look  at  it  this  way  for  a  minute :  When  you  go  to  the 
trouble  and  expense  of  putting  in  a  system  of  tile  ditches  you  do  not 
want  to  do  it  all  over  again.  You  should  not  have  to  do  it  over  again, 
nor  should  your  children  have  to,  if  it  is  done  right.  You  will  not 
have  to,  and  they  will  not  have  to,  if  you  use  a  first  class  grade  of 
tile  and  do  a  good  job  of  laying  it.  But  if  you  use  a  cheap,  poor  grade 
of  tile,  it  is  certain  that  at  least  your  children  will  have  to  do  the  job 
over  again ;  and  it  is  almost  as  much  of  a  cinch  that  you  yourself  will 
have  to  do  it  unless  you  are  already  well  past  middle  age  when  you 
do  it  the  first  time.  Not  only  do  you  want  the  system  to  last  for 
years,  but  you  want  to  know  that  there  is  no  question  about  its  work- 
ing satisfactorily  all  the  time. 

You  do  not  send  a  boy  or  a  hired  man  off  into  a  far  field  out  of 
sight  all  alone  to  work  on  some  important  job  unless  you  know  that 
he  is  able  to  do  that  work,  that  he  knows  how  to  do  it,  and  that  you 
can  trust  him  to  do  it  all  alone  himself.  For  the  very  same  reason,  you 
should  not  bury  tile  out  of  sight  in  the  ground  to  do  important  work 
for  you  unless  you  are  sure  that  they  are  an  efficient,  durable  grade 
of  tile ;  unless  you  know  that  they  are  a  grade  of  tile  which  will  stand 
up  for  years,  and  even  for  generations. 

The  cost  of  the  tile  represents  only  about  one  third  of  the  cost 
of  tiling  land,  the  various  items  of  labor  representing  the  other  two 
thirds.  By  buying  a  cheap  grade  of  tile  you  might  be  able  to  save 
a  few  cents  a  rod  on  the  cost  of  the  finished  job.  But  by  making  that 
saving  you  practically  insure  that  within  a  few  years  at  least  several 
of  those  cheap  tile  you  bought  so  as  to  save  those  few  pennies  a  rod 
will  "go  down"  on  you.  By  going  down  they  clog  all  of  the  ditch 
above  them  and  ruin  enough  crop  in  one  season  to  pay  all  of  the  costs 
of  laying  the  ditch  they  clogged  up.  In  a  few  more  years  at  the  most, 
you  will  have  to  take  up  all  those  cheap  tile  you  laid  and  lay  new  ones. 
This  will  cost  you  more  than  it  cost  to  lay  those  poor  tile  in  the  first 
place,  or' than  it  would  have  cost  you  to  lay  good  ones  while  you  were 
at  it.  And  what  is  even  worse,  in  the  mean  time  you  have  not  had 
as  efficient  service  out  of  your  ditches  as  you  should  have  had ;  and 
thereby  you  have  lost  money  each  year  you  were  depending  on  these 
"broken  reeds." 

You  simply  cannot  afford  to  be  so  foolishly  economical  as  to  lay 
inferior  tile,  or  anything  poorer  than  the  best,  simply  to  save  a  few 
dollars  a  thousand  feet  of  ditch. 

51 


Buy  of  a  The  firm  manufacturing  the  tile  you  use  is  one  of  the 
reliable  firm  surest  guarantees  possible  as  to  the  quality  of  the 
tile  you  are  using.  It  is  just  like  buying  any  other 
manufactured  article.  You  should  buy  the  product  of  an  old,  well 
established  firm  which  has  the  reputation  of  putting  out  a  large 
volume  of  good  tile,  and  which  has  been  doing  it  for  many  years  in 
succession.  The  very  fact  that  they  are  getting  enough  business  to 
keep  them  going  on  an  extensive  scale  year  after  year  is,  in  itself, 
proof  that  their  tile  are  good.  The  small,  ''neighborhood"  manufac- 
turer cannot  afford  the  expensive  machinery,  skilled  workmen,  fore- 
men and  superintendents  necessary  to  put  out  a  high  class  product. 
Only  the  large  manufacturer,  who  produces  on  an  extensive  scale, 
can  afford  this  investment  and  operating  expense  necessary  to  make 
the  highest  grade  of  tile.  Their  large  overhead  costs  of  operation  are 
spread  over  such  a  large  volume  of  product  that  it  amounts  to  only 
a  small  amount  for  each  carload,  or  each  thousand  feet  of  tile.  This 
enables  them  to  put  more  money  into  the  various  processes  of  man- 
ufacture— and  so  put  out  a  better  quality  of  tile —  than  can  the  small 
scale  manufacturer  who  sells  his  tile  at  the  same  price. 

Because  of  the  large  scale  on  which  he  operates  the  large  manufac- 
turer is  always  able  to  give  you  immediate  shipments  of  whatever  size 
of  tile  you  may  want  or  need.  He  operates  his  factory  the  whole  year 
around  and  lays  up  a  big  store  of  finished  tile  to  meet  the  demands 
of  the  season  when  his  manufacturing  facilities  cannot  keep  up  with 
his  shipments.  His  large  capitalization  enables  him  to  do  this.  But 
the  small  plant  cannot  afford  to  carry  this  heavy  load  of  money  tied 
up  in  manufactured  product  stored  in  his  yards.  He  often  accepts 
orders  for  tile  which  he  does  not  have  on  hand,  and  you  have  to  wait 
until  he  can  manufacture  them,  and  then  fills  other  orders  which  have 
accumulated  ahead  of  yours,  and  such  waiting  is  very  apt  to  cause 
you  considerable  loss,  often  means  a  delay  of  several  weeks. 

Cement    It  may  be  possible  to  make  good  cement  tile.     But  there  is 
tile  s^^  room  for  an  abundance  of  doubt  on  this  question,  and 

as  to  the  advisability  of  using  them — especially  the  smaller 
sizes  which  are  made  by  what  is  known  as  the  "dry  mix"  process.  No 
tiling  systems  in  which  cement  tile  have  been  used  have  yet  been  in 
operation  long  enough  to  prove  in  actual  practice  that  cement  tile  will 
last  as  long  as  it  is  known  that  good  clay  tile  will  continue  to  operate 
efficiently.  So  that  the  least  that  can  be  said  on  the  subject  is  that 
their  durability  has  not  yet  been  proven  in  actual  practice  under  regu- 
lation farm  drainage  conditions. 

The  chief  advocates  of  the  use  of,  cement  tile  are  the  manufactur- 
ers of  tile  making  machinery,  not  the  manufacturers  of  cement.  These 
manufacturers  of  tile  making  machinery  have  extensively  advocated 
the  use  of  small  type  machines  by  which  they  claim  that  a  man  can 
make  his  own  tile  right  on  his  farm  cheaper  than  he  can  buy  them. 

If  you  are  seriously  contemplating  the  use  of  cement  tile,  especial- 
ly if  you  are  thinking  of  making  your  own  tile,  here  are  some  features 
of  the  problem  which  you  should  consider  seriously  before  definitely 
deciding  to  do  it: 

52 


Drain  tile  offer  one  of  the  most  severe  conditions  which  concrete 
is  asked  to  withstand.  It  is  asked  to  withstand  the  decomposing 
action  of  running  water  which  is  charged  with  more  or  less  carbonic 
and  other  soil  acids  which  exert  a  dissolving  action  of  no  mean  effect 
on  the  cement  contained  in  the  tile.  The  mere  fact  that  foundations, 
footings,  piers,  etc.  of  massive  construction  have  stood  for  years,  even 
tho  buried  in  the  ground  much  as  tile  are  buried,  is  no  proof  that  thin 
walled  cement  tile  will  stand  up.  These  are  massive  and  are  saturated 
with  standing  water  only.  The  tile  walls  are  thin,  are  not  only  saturat- 
ed with  water,  but  are  also  subjected  to  the  effects  of  running  water; 
the  flow  of  water  greatly  increases  the  rate  at  which  the  cement  is 
dissolved  out.  Running  water  also  has  an  eroding  effect  which  mater- 
ially adds  to  and  aids  the  dissolving  action  of  the  water  in  its  tendency 
to  destroy  the  tile. 

In  order  to  reduce  the  labor  cost  to  the  lowest  point  possible,  the 
smaller  sizes  of  cement  tile  are  made  by  the  so-called  "dry  mix"  pro- 
cess. The  cement  and  sand  are  mixed  together  dry  and  then  simply 
moistened  with  a  small  amount  of  water,  just  enough  to  hold  the 
cement  and  sand  mixture  together  after  the  jacket  or  mold  is  removed 
—which  is  within  a  minute  or  less  after  the  mixture  has  been  packed 
into  the  mold.  And  yet  cement  manufacturers  constantly  teach  that 
in  order  to  make  a  strong  durable  concrete  it  is  necessary  to  use 
enough  water  to  produce  a  "quaky"  or  a  "slushed"  mixture.  In  the 
manufacture  of  cement  tile  this  sort  of  a  mixture  is  used  only  in  mak- 
ing the  very  large  sizes  of  tile  for  use  in  main  ditches. 

Also,  when  cement  manufacturers  do  discuss  the  making  of 
cement  tile  they  say  you  should  not  use  a  mixture  thinner  than  one 
part  of  cement  to  three  parts  of  coarse  sand  or  fine  gravel.  To  make 
a  mixture  this  rich,  or  any  richer,  makes  the  cost  so  high  that  cement 
tile  cannot  be  sold  profitably  in  competition  with  high  grade,  clay  tile. 
The  result  is  that  manufacturers  of  cement  tile  use  at  least  four,  if  not 
five  or  more  parts  of  sand  or  gravel  to  one  part  of  cement. 

A  cement  tile  factory  can  be  put  up  with  a  small  investment.  The 
result  is  that  the  country  is  dotted  with  the  ruins  of  abandoned  cement 
tile  factories.  Individuals  and  small  companies  have  gone  into  the 
business  with  a  small  invested  capital  and  with  little  or  no  experience 
in  drainage  or  the  manufacture  of  concrete  products.  The  superin- 
tendents and  workmen  have  been  locaj  men  who  are  not  familiar  with 
the  important  problems  of  materials,  mixture  and  curing  required  in 
the  manufacture  of  concrete  products.  After  a  few  months,  or  a  few 
years  at  the  most,  there  comes  a  lull  in  their  business  and  they  quit 
it.  If  the  tile  you  bought  of  them  fails  you  in  a  few  years,  you  have 
no  means  of  collecting  damages;  the  firm  you  bought  of  is  out  of 
business. 

Large  contracting  firms  which  use  a  great  deal  of  cement  require 
that  all  cement  used  by  them  shall  pass  rigid  laboratory  analyses  and 
tests.  They  frequently  find  it  necessary  to  reject  part  or  all  of  a  large 
shipment  because  it  is  below  the  standard  of  quality  required.  Thus 
they  carefully  analyze  and  test  their  cement  before  using  it  because 
they  realize  the  important  part  which  the  quality  of  the  cement  plays 
in  determining  the  quality  of  the  finished  concrete  which  they  produce. 
The  cement  tile  factories  scattered  over  the  country  cannot  afford  to 

53 


employ  high  priced  chemists  for  this  work  and  so  do  not  use  this  care 
and  precaution  with  regard  to  the  cement  they  use.  The  result  is 
found  in  much  of  the  product  they  put  out. 

It  is  a  waste  of  good  money,  and  of  good  time  as  well,  to  attempt 
to  make  your  own  tile  and  save  any  money  if  you  count  your  own 
time  as  worth  any  thing.  You  are  not  skilled  in  the  work,  and  so  can- 
not make  them  as  rapidly  as  can  even  the  most  inefficiently  operated 
factory.  You  have  to  buy  the  machinery  and  erect  drying  and  curing 
sheds.  The  chances  are  ninety-nine  to  one  that  you  do  not  have  a 
gravel  deposit  that  is  at  all  good  enough.  Contrary  to  the  advertise- 
ments of  the  machinery  manufacturers,  making  cement  tile  is  not  a  job 
at  which  you  can  work  odd  hours.  To  get  even  a  half  way  decent 
quality  of  product,  and  get  it  at  a  reasonable  labor  cost,  one  must 
operate  the  plant  in  full  day  shifts.  Then  the  tile  must  be  watched 
carefully  and  watered  freely  and  frequently  for  several  weeks.  At 
best,  the  home  manufacture  of  cement  tile  is  a  delusion  and  a  snare. 

Clay  The  one  kind  of  drain  tile  which  has  stood  the  test  of  time  is 
tile  made  of  clay  or  of  shale.  They  are  still  working  in  this  coun- 
try, after  three  quarters  of  a  century  of  continuous  and  satis- 
factory use.  They  are  still  working  in  Europe  after  a  full  century  or 
more  of  use.  So  their  quality  and  efficiency  is  known.  There  is  no 
guess  work  about  it. 

Clay  tile  should  be  close  grained  and  of  fine  "texture."  They 
should  be  hard  burned  so  they  will  absorb  a  minimum  amount  of  wa- 
ter; remember  that  water  enters  thru  the  joints  of  the  ditch,  not  thru 
the  walls  of  the  tile.  Salt  glazing  is  unnecessary,  it  adds  no  more 
strength  than  would  a  coat  of  paint,  and  often  covers  up  a  multitude 
of  sins  within  the  walls  of  the  tile  itself.  "Vitrified"  is  a  word  which 
is  used  to  conjure  with  by  some  manufacturers  and  salesmen  of  clay 
products,  and  it  means  far  less  in  terms  of  service  than  the  average 
user  would  have  you  believe  it  means.  When  clay  is  fully  vitrified 
it  fuses  or  melts  into  a  continuous  mass  like  glass.  No  drain  tile  are 
vitrified  completely;  if  they  were,  they  would  not  hold  their  shape 
in  the  kiln. 

What  is  wanted  is  a  tile  which  has  been  burned  hard  enough — 
vitrified  to  such  degree,  if  you  persist  in  wanting  that  word — that  it 
will  not  flake  or  chip,  will  have  a  clear  metallic  ring,  and  be  strong 
enough  to  carry  the  load  placed  on  it.  If  vitrified  to  too  great  an  ex- 
tent, the  tile  become  too  brittle  and  crack  and  break  too  readily  in 
handling  and  shipping,  thus  increasing  the  danger  of  getting  cracked 
tile  into  the  ditch. 

There  are  two  clases  or  kinds  of  clay  tile  on  the  market.  One  is 
made  of  the  soft  surface  or  "drift"  clays  of  more  or  less  impurities  and 
irregularities  in  character.  The  other  is  made  from  the  stonelike 
shales,  or  clay  in  a  natural  condition  which  resembles  rock.  The 
shales  are  finer  grained  than  are  the  surface  clays.  They  make  a  finer 
grained,  more  close  textured — and  consequently,  when  properly 
burned,  more  durable — drain  tile  than  do  the  surface  clays. 

A  more  elaborate  equipment  of  machinery,  and  greater  labor  and 
other  costs  of  operation,  are  required  to  manufacture  the  shale  tile 
than  are  required  for  the  surface  clay  tile  because  of  the  stonelike 

54 


character  of  the  shales.  Surface  clays  are  found  in  all  parts  of  the 
country.  This  fact,  coupled  with  the  smaller  investment  and  operating 
capital  required,  has  caused  small  neighborhood  plants  to  spring  up 
extensively  over  the  country.  Available  shale  deposits  are  found 
only  here  and  there.  This  fact,  coupled  with  the  large  investment  and 
operating  capital  needed,  results  in  there  being  far  fewer  shale  tile 
factories  than  surface  clay  tile  factories,  and  these  are  grouped  or 
clustered  where  these  available  deposits  are  to  be  found.  These 
centers  are  noted  for  their  extensive  tile  factories,  as  Battle  Creek  is 
noted  for  breakfast  foods  and  Detroit  for  automobiles. 

Every  step  in  the  process  of  manufacture  must  be  watched  care- 
fully. Neglect  in  any  one  will  give  any  one  of  several  faults  which 
will  weaken  or  shorten  the  life  of  the  finished  tile. 

1.  The  shale  must  be  of  such  a  nature  as  will  adapt  it  to  the  vari- 
ous necessary  processes  of  manufacture.     It  must  be  fine  grained,  or 
the  tile  will  be  coarse  grained.     It  must  be  free  from  all  particles  of 
lime,  or  the  particles  of  burned  lime  will  slack  when  they  become  moist 
after  the  tile  are  laid,  and  will  chip  or  crack  the  tile.    The  shale  must 
be  uniform  in  character  thruout  the  entire  deposit,  or  the  tile  will  not 
be  uniform  in  quality  from  one  lot  to  another. 

2.  The   shale  must  be  ground   fine,   and  thoroly  "pugged"   or 
mixed  with  water  or  it  will  come  from  the  shaping  machinery  "lamin- 
ated," or  in  layers  which  will  burn  in  layers  and  so  scale  off  or  split 
afterward.    When  improperly  pugged  tile  are  burned  in  the  kilns  some 
spots  or  portions  will  burn  more  quickly  than  others  and  the  result 
will  be  "internal  strains"  which  will  cause  cracks  to  form  inside  the 
walls  of  the  tile,  or  even  clear  thru  them.    These  cracks  may  not  form 
until  after  the  tile  are  laid,  just  as  you  have  known  iron  castings  or 
lamp  chimneys  to  break  from  no  apparent  cause  when  standing  idle,  or 
a  broken  casting  to  show  an  old  internal  crack  which  did  not  appear 
anywhere  on  the  surface  thus  leaving  only  a  thin  shell  of  metal  to  be 
broken.     The  cause  is  similar,  "internal  strains."     This  pugging  is 
one  of  the  most  vitally  important  steps  in  the  entire  process  of  manu- 
facturing drain  tile,  it  is  the  one  in  which  manufacturers  fail  most 
often  to  do  their  full  duty. 

3.  The  shaping  machinery   must  be  accurate,   or  the   finished 
tile  will  not  be  accurate  in  size.     Faults  in  the  machinery  itself  may 
cause  laminations. 

4.  The  "green"  tile  must  be  cured  in  curing  or  drying  houses 
where  the  rate  of  drying  may  be  controlled  accurately.     If  the  dry- 
ing is  not  properly  controlled,  then  the  walls  of  the  tile  will  not  be 
uniformly  dry  thruout  their  entire  thickness  when  they  are  placed  in 
the  kilns  to  be  burned.  When  they  are  burned,  internal  strains  will  be 
produced  just  as  was  explained  as  resulting  from  improper  pugging. 

5.  The  burning  must  be  done  very  carefully  by  skilled  burners 
in  properly  designed  kilns.     Too  low  or  too  high   temperatures   at 
various  stages  of  the  burning  process  will  produce  a  very  inferior  tile. 

6.  The  contents  of  each  kiln  must  be  sorted  very  carefully  after 
burning  to  remove  all  crooked  tile ;  those  that  are  cracked,  or  chipped ; 
those  that  are  "laminated" ;  those  that  are  not  burned  hard  enough ; 
some  of  the  more  conscientious  companies  even  sort  out  those  that 
are  white  washed,  a  fault  in  looks  only,  not  in  quality. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Why  Denison  Tile  Are  Best 

Written  by  cAmos  P.  Potts, 
Ceramist  of  the  Mason  City  '•Brick  &  Tile  Co. 

Here  at  Mason  City,  Iowa,  we  have  an  extensive  deposit  of  clay 
and  shale  which  is  better  adapted  to  the  manufacture  of  drain  tile 
than  any  other  deposits  known  in  this  country.  Combined  with  the 
quality  of  our  raw  materials  is  the  fact  that  we  have  the  most  exten- 
sive drain  tile  manufacturing  plants,  and  use  the  best  process  of 
manufacture,  to  be  found  in  the  world.  Consequently  we  produce  the 
most  uniform,  the  highest  grade,  and  the  most  durable  drain  tile 
manufactured  in  America.  The  result  is  that  the  Mason  City  Brick 
and  Tile  Company  produces  one  seventh  of  all  the  drain  tile  manufac- 
tured in  the  United  States. 

The  raw  material  Our  deposit  of  raw  materials  consists  of  the 
•urki^Vk  w^  no.  Hackberry  clay  and  the  Devonian  shaio.  The 

W11IC.I1  WC  U.OC  1t  ii«  C.ITA 

Hackberry   clay   lies   on   top   of   the   Devonian 

shale,  but  is  not  what  is  known  as  a  "surface  clay."  It  is  what  is  left 
from  the  decomposition  of  an  ancient  deposit  which  was  originally 
about  one  hundred  times  as  thick  as  the  present  layer  of  clay.  This 


Mining  the  clay  and  shale  used  in  making  Denison  Double  Process  Drain  Tile. 

56 


leaves  only  the  finest  part  of  the  original  deposit,  that  which  is  best 
adapted  to  the  manufacture  of  drain  tile.  This  Hackberry  clay  is 
very  fine  grained,  thus  adapting  it  to  the  manufacture  of  a  fine  grained 
drain  tile.  As  compared  with  the  Devonian  it  is  also  what  is  known 
as  "highly  refractory/'  which  means  that  it  requires  a  higher  temper- 
ature to  melt  it  down  and  cause  it  to  lose  it's  shape  in  the  kiln. 

Our  Devonian  Shale  is  a  clay  which  is  stone-like  in  character.  It 
is  exceedingly  fine  grained,  even  finer  than  our  Hackberry  which  is 
unusually  fine  for  a  clay.  This  deposit  is  about  thirty  feet  thick.  It 
is  exceptionally  uniform  in  quality  thruout  its  entire  thickness.  This 
Devonian  shale  melts,  or  reaches  "full  vitrification,"  at  considerably 
lower  temperatures  than  does  the  Hackberry  clay. 

Other  shale  deposits  of  this  country  consist  of  a  series  of  layers 
or  strata  which  possess  different  characteristics.  This  makes  it  prac- 
tically impossible  for  manufacturers  using  these  deposits  to  make  tile 
which  are  uniform  in  character  and  quality.  But  the  unvarying  uni- 
formity of  our  deposits  enables  us  to  produce  tile  of  equally  unvarying 
uniformity  in  character  and  quality.  This  is  very  important  to  you. 
Each  individual  Denison  tile  you  lay  in  your  ditches  is  just  as  good  as 
every  other  one  you  lay  in  those  ditches ;  they  are  all  the  finest  grained, 
closest  fibered,  truest  shaped,  strongest  and  most  durable  tile  you  can 
buy  anywhere. 

Why  we  mix  these  Neither  the  Hackberry  clay  nor  the  Devonian 
fiAi-r*  wi  a  f  A  f  i  a  1  c  shale,  used  by  itself,  is  adapted  to  the  econom- 

LWL>     111  rtLCiICllo        .        ,  .         ~  .         1*11  t        •        j_'i  i  > 

ical  manufacture  of  a  high  class  drain  tile.    But 

by  mixing  the  two  together  in  accurately  determined  proportions  we 
are  able  to  produce  a  very  fine  grained,  close  textured,  hard  burned, 
durable  drain  tile  which  will  serve  you  and  your  descendants  faithfully 
for  generations.  If  this  were  not  so  we  could  not  now  be  manufactur- 
ing one  seventh  of  the  nation's  drain  tile  output. 


The  first  grinding  of  the  day  and  shale. 

57 


The  Devonian 
shale  is  so  exceeding- 
ly fine  grained  that 
it  must  be  mixed 
with  something  else 
which  will  give  it 
the  necessary  frame 
work  to  prevent  the 
formation  of  "lamin- 
ations," or  thin  lay- 
ers one  upon  the  oth- 
er, in  the  process  of 
molding  the  tile.  The 

Ground    clay    stored   in    curing    shed    until    taken    to    the    mixer        Hackberry       clay       i  S 

enough  coarser  than 
the    Devonian    shale 

to  furnish  this  necessary  frame  work  to  prevent  lamination ;  and  yet 
it  is  not  sufficiently  coarse  grained  to  produce  a  coarse  grained  tile. 
Only  sufficient  of  the  Hackberry  is  used  to  furnish  this  framework. 

The  Devonian  melts  at  a  lower  temperature  than  does  the 
Hackberry.  By  burning  our  tile  to  a  sufficiently  high  temperature 
to  produce  a  high  state  of  vitrification  in  the  Devonian  portion  of 
the  tile  we  have  not  heated  it  enough  to  melt  down  the  Hackberry 
"framework."  This  enables  us  to  produce  a  very  hard  burned  tile, 
with  a  high  degree  of  vitrification,  without  any  danger  of  the  tile 
melting  down  and  losing  its  shape,  or  becoming  brittle  and  easily 
broken. 

Thus  Denison  tile  are  not  only  hard  burned,  but  they  are  fine 
grained,  close  textured,  uniform  in  size,  straight  and  cylindrical  in 
shape;  tile  which  are  easy  to  lay,  and  which  last  for  generations.  By 
means  of  this  mixture  of  Hackberry  clay  and  Devonian  shale  which 
we  use,  Denison  tile  are  finer  grained,  more  compact,  straighter 
and  stronger  than 
is  made  from  any 
other  deposit  of  shale 
or  of  clay. 

Advantages      o  f 
our  raw  materials 

1.  We  have  only 
two  kinds  of  raw  ma- 
terials     t  o      handle. 
These  are  very  uni- 
form in  quality  and 
character. 

2.  Other     Iowa 
and     Minnesota     de- 
posits   contain    from 
six  to  twelve  kinds  of 
shale  which  must  be 


7  he    pugg    mill 
kneaded  into 


where    the    clay    is     mi.ved     with     water     and 
a  very  uniform  mixture. 


58 


mixed  with  great  care  to  give 
even  a  fairly  good  grade  of 
product. 

3.  This  greatly  simplifies 
our  problem  of  getting  the 
proper  mixture  to  give  us  a 
high  grade  finished  product. 
It  is  just  that  much  insur- 
ance to  you  that  in  buying 
Denison  tile  you  get  the  best 
drain  tile  made. 


Between   the   first   and   second   pugging    the   mixture 
is  run  between  these  powerful  steel  rollers. 


4.  The  exceedingly  fine  grained  character  of  both  of  these  materials 
makes  it  possible  for  us  to  produce  a  finer  grained,  closer  textured 
and  more  compact  tile  than  can  be  produced  from  any  other  deposits. 

5.  The  Hackberry  clay  and  the  Devonian  shale  mix  more  readily 
with  water  when  "pugging"  or  preparing  them  to  go  to  the  molding 
machines  than  do  other  Iowa  and  Minnesota  deposits.    This  decreases 
the  danger  of  weak  spots  in  the  walls  of  our  tile  resulting  from  "in- 
ternal strains"  explained  in  the  last  chapter  of  Mr.  King's  book. 

Our  "double  process"     Our  Hackberry  clay  and  Devonian  shale 
of  manufacturing  tUe    are  ground  to  a  very  fine  powder  and  mixed 

in  the  proper  proportions  necessary  to  pro- 
duce tile  of  the  desired  quality.  They  must  be  ground  to  this  fine  pow- 
der so  they  will  mix  thoroly  with  each  other  and  with  water.  This 
thoro  mixing  is  necessary  so  that  they  will  mold  without  laminations 
or  cracks  being  formed,  and  so  that  they  will  be  of  a  uniform  character 

thruout  when  burned. 

Next  they  are 
thoroly  "pugged." 
This  pugging  con- 
sists of  mixing  the 
powdered  clay  and 
shale  with  a  definite- 
ly known  and  care- 
fully  controlled 
quantity  of  water, 
and  thoroly  "work- 
ing" the  mixture  as 
dough  is  worked  or 
kneaded  in  the  mak- 
ing of  bread.  This 
pugging  is  done  so 
thoroly  that  each  in- 
dividual grain  of  the 
powdered  material, 
so  tiny  that  a  micro- 

After  preliminary  grinding  the  mixture  is  shredded  and  stones  •  r»/accai-  r  fr» 

removed  by  being  passed  through  these  powerful  disintegrators.  SCOpe  IS  nCCCSSary  TO 

59 


see  it,  is  coated  with 
a  film  of  water. 

Then  this  pasty 
mass  is  run  thru  a 
set  of  heavy  steel 
rolls  to  crush  any 
lumps  which  may 
have  been  formed 
during  the  pugging 
process.  From  these 
rolls  it  is  taken  to  a 
second  pug  mill  and 
given  i  t  s  second 
pugging.  Either  the 
first  or  the  second 
pugging,  which  we 
give  the  material,  is 
alone  as  much  pug- 
ging as  other  manu- 
facturers give  their 
material.  This  sec- 
ond pugging  is  what  gives  our  tile  their  name  of  the  "Denison  Double 
Process  Tile." 


After  a  second  pugging  the  mixture  is  forced  through  this 
molding  machine,  where  a  continuous  tube  of  clay  is  formed 
which  is  automatically  cut  into  uniform  lengths. 


After  this  second  pugging,  the  now  thoroly  prepared  clay  is  sent 
to  the  molding  machinery.  Here  it  is  molded  and  cut  into  the  proper 
sizes  and  lengths  of  tile  and  sent  to  the  drying  or  curing  sheds.  In 
these  sheds  the  temperature  and  air  movements  are  under  perfect 
control  at  all  times.  This  gives  the  careful,  uniform  drying  which  is 
so  necessary  in  the  manufacture  of  high  grade  tile. 

When  properly  dried  or  cured,  the  tile  are  stacked  in  the  kilns 
and  put  thru  the 
burning  process  un- 
der the  supervision 
o  f  highly  skilled 
burners.  In  these 
kilns  we  use  a  speci- 
ally designed  system 
of  drafts  which  in- 
sures a  constant  sup- 
ply of  heat  at  the  de- 
sired temperature 
uniform  thruout  the 
entire  space  of  the 

.    In   this   Way  all  Before  being  put  into  the  kiln,  the  tile  are  cured  in  the  drying 

4-Up    f'lp     '-n  triln        shed,   where   temperature   and   air   movement  are   under  complete 

60 


are  burned  to  a  very  uniform 
degree  of  hardness. 

After  the  process  o  f 
burning  has  been  completed, 
the  kilns  are  allowed  to  cool 
slowly.  When  the  contents 
are  cooled,  the  tile  are  re- 
moved and  graded  carefully 
to  remove  any  which  have 
been  damaged  or  mishapen 
in  any  way  in  handling.  Our 
sorting  and  grading  is  very 
rigid.  It  is  so  rigid  that  only 
tile  which  are  true  to  size, 
straight  and  uniform  in  dia- 
meter, free  from  all  cracks 
and  laminations,  sound  and 
thoroly  hard  burned,  ever  reach  our  storage  yards  for  shipment  to  our 
customers. 


From  the  drying  room  the  tile  are  taken  to  the  kiln, 
stacked  carefully  and  burned  zvith  the  greatest  scien 
tific  accuracy. 


The  advantages  of 
our  double  process 
o  f  manufacture 


1.  The  double  pugging  which  we  give  our 
finely  ground  raw  materials  absolutely  insures 
the  proper  moistening  and  mixing  of  the  two 
grades  of  raw  material  which  we  use.  The  en- 
tire mass  is  of  a  highly  uniform  character  thruout  when  it  goes  to  the 
molding  machinery.  This,  in  turn,  insures  a  highly  uniform  grade 
of  tile  for  shipment  to  our  customers. 

2.  This  extra  pugging  reduces  to  the  minimum  all  chances  of 
the  formation  of  "laminations,"  or  the  "internal  strains"  which  Mr. 
King  explained  thoroly  in  the  last  chapter  of  his  book. 

3.  This  extra  pugging  also  gives  a  very  compact,  fine  grained 
and  close  textured  tile  wall  which  is  very  important  in  determining 

the  length  of  the  useful  life 
of  the  tile. 

4.  Our  controlled  meth- 
od of  drying  insures  "safe 
drying."  It  insures  the  tile 
against  any  internal  cracks 
which  do  not  show  on  the 
surface,  or  those  external 
cracks  which  extend  clear 
thru  the  walls  of  the  tile.  It 
also  is  one  more  insurance 
against  the  formation  of  any 
internal  strains  which  give 
hidden  weaknesses  to  the 

tile.        TllCSC      are      all      faults 

which  are  found  extensively 


After    cooling    slowly    at    the    close 

Pyoure%dherl  fl"  ******  '"  '**  '"" 


of    the    burning 

*"*  "  flwfl" 
61 


in  clay  tile  which  are  simply 
dried  in  open  sheds  where 
the  rate  of  drying  is  beyond 
the  control  of  the  manufac- 
turer and  is  entirely  depend- 
ent on  the  condition  of  the 
weather. 

5.  Our  extensive  out- 
put of  some  ten  thousand 
car  loads  of  drain  tile  a  year 
permits  us  to  employ  a  full 
force  of  expert  superinten- 
dents and  workmen  from  one 
year's  end  to  another.  These 

men  give  every  step  in  our  process  of  manufacture  a  more  costly  and 
careful  supervision  and  inspection  than  can  the  smaller  scale  manu- 
facturer whose  overhead  costs  such  as  these,  must  be  charged  up  to 
a  much  smaller  volume  of  output.  This  large  volume  output  of 
ours,  the  largest  in  America,  enables  us  to  sort  our  product  much 
more  rigidly  and  mercilessly  than  can  a  company  with  a  small  volume 
of  output,  and  still  pay  ourselves  a  reasonable  rate  of  profit  on  our 
investment. 


A   storage  yard  at  one  of  our  eight  factories. 


Why  you  should 
buy  Denison  Double 
Process  Tile 


1.  Because  it  is  the  finest  grained,  clos- 
est textured,  strongest,  longest  lived,  straight- 
est,  most  uniformily  sized  and  shaped  tile  on 
the  market. 

2.  Because  it  costs  you  no  more  than  the  best  tile  sold  by  other 
firms,  even  tho  none  of  them  is  as  good  as  the  Denison  Double  Pro- 
cess Tile. 


- 


Within  24  hours  after  an  order  is  received  at  our 
office  it  is  loaded  onto  the  cars  and  shipped  to  the 
purchaser. 

62 


3.  Because  our  immense 
volume    of    output,  and  the 
fact  that  we  operate  twelve 
months  in  the  year,  insures 
that  we  can  always  furnish 
you  any  tile  you  want,  in  any 
quantity    you    want    it,    as 
quickly  as  it  is  possible  for 
freight  service   to   get   it   to 
you. 

4.  Because     the     five 
steam  railroads  which   dom- 
inate the  freight  industry  of 
this  section  pass  thru  Mason 
City.    This  gives  us  the  best 
freight      shipping      facilities 
west  of  Chicago. 


One  reason  "why  ive  can  always  give  you  prompt  shipment, 

5.  Our  large  resources  and  financial  reliability,  and  our  over 
thirty  years  of  reputation  for  fair  dealing,  insure  that  you  will  get 
nothing  but  the  highest  class  product,  and  the  squarest  possible  treat- 
ment from  us. 

MASON  CITY  BRICK  AND  TILE  CO. 

Mason  City,  Iowa. 


A  bird's-eye  view  of  one  of  our  factories. 

63 


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